In this chapter some mental disorders are described. For example, in depression, fluoxetine treatment and a placebo treatment affect similar brain regions. In anxiety, patients’ expectations play a crucial role, as covert (unexpected) administration of anti-anxiety drugs is less effective than overt (expected) administration. The disruption of prefrontal executive control in Alzheimer’s disease decreases the magnitude of placebo responses. In addition, expectations appear to be particularly important when associated with the effects of drugs of abuse. Placebo effects appear to be powerful in psychotherapy as well, and the brain areas involved in the psychotherapeutic outcome are different from those involved in the placebo effect. As clinical trials for psychotherapeutic interventions represent a major problem, new recommendations are presented.
A-B THERAPIST VARIABLE AND PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC OUTCOME
