scholarly journals Placebo Effects on Stress, but Not on Pain Reports. A Multi-Experiment Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Magelssen Vambheim ◽  
Hojjat Daniali ◽  
Magne Arve Flaten

BackgroundContextual factors, such as participant/experimenter sex may moderate the placebo effects. We tested whether the participant and experimenter sex modulated placebo effects on experimentally induced pain and associated stress.ObjectiveTo investigate if (i) participant sex and (ii) experimenter sex influence placebo analgesia and subjective and physiological stress in two experiments employing a within-subjects and a mixed design, respectively. Placebo effects were investigated in pain reports, stress, and blood pressure.MethodsParticipants received painful stimulations and a placebo cream. In Experiment One (N = 59) participants underwent a placebo condition (PC) and a natural history condition (NHC) in random order. A placebo cream was applied in the PC and then the heat stimulation temperature was surreptitiously lowered. Identical stimulations were administered in the NHC, but with no cream, no information, and no lowered temperature. In Experiment Two, participants (N = 93) were randomly assigned to three groups receiving either a placebo cream with surreptitiously lowered intensity of electric stimuli (Placebo, PG), a placebo cream (Cream-Control, CCG) without changing the stimuli, or lowered intensity, but with no cream (Pain-Control, PCG) in a mixed design. All participants in both experiments received the same stimuli in the post-test as in the pre-test. Four experimenters (two females) in Experiment One, and five experimenters (two females) in Experiment Two conducted the studies.ResultsNo placebo effect was seen on pain. However, there were placebo effects on stress, moderated by participant and experimenter sex: in Experiment One males in the PC had lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) compared to males in the NHC. Participants in the PC had lower DBP compared to the NHC when tested by a female. In Experiment Two, participants expected more cream effectiveness when a female experimenter administered it, and reported lower stress in the PG compared to the PCG when tested by females.ConclusionOur findings highlight a distinction between placebo effects on pain and on associated stress. Secondly, female experimenters recorded lower physiological and subjective stress, higher effectiveness expectations, and lower pain from both sexes compared to male experimenters. Possible reasons for the failure to find a pain placebo effect are discussed.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Frangos ◽  
Marta Ceko ◽  
Binquan Wang ◽  
Emily A. Richards ◽  
John L. Gracely ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPlacebo analgesia is hypothesized to involve top-down engagement of prefrontal regions that access endogenous pain inhibiting opioid pathways. Fibromyalgia (FM) patients have neuroanatomical and neurochemical alterations in pathways relevant to placebo analgesia. Thus, it remains unclear whether placebo analgesic mechanisms would differ in FM patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). Here, using placebo-analgesia-inducing paradigms that included verbal suggestions and conditioning manipulations, we examined whether behavioral and neural placebo analgesic responses differed between 32 FM patients and 46 age- and sex-matched HCs. Participants underwent a manipulation scan, where noxious high and low heat were paired with the control and placebo cream, respectively, and a placebo experimental scan with equal noxious heat temperatures. Before the experimental scan, each participant received saline or naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist. Across all participants, the placebo condition decreased pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings, decreased activity within the right insula and bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex, and modulated the Neurologic Pain Signature. There were no differences between HCs and FM patients in pain intensity ratings or neural responses during the placebo condition. Despite the perceptual and neural effects of the placebo manipulation, prefrontal circuitry was not activated during the expectation period and the placebo analgesia was unaltered by naloxone, suggesting placebo effects were driven more by conditioning than expectation. Together, these findings suggest that placebo analgesia can occur in both HCs and chronic pain FM patients, without the involvement of opiodergic prefrontal modulatory networks.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hartin Suidah ◽  
Ninik Murtiyani ◽  
Arif Susanto ◽  
Yufi Aris Lestari ◽  
Shindy Sofyaning Fitra

ABSTRAKMasih tingginya penderita hipertensi merupakan salah satu masalah yang berpengaruh terhadap gaya hidup dan sikap yang mendorong timbulnya hipertensi. Untuk menangani tekanan darah pada penderita hipertensi umumnya minum obat-obatan dari puskesmas, rutinitas ini sering tidak disukai oleh penderita. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektifitas air rebusan daun seledri terhadap perubahan tekanan darah pada lansia di Posyandu Ngudi Konco Desa Donomulyo Kecamatan Donomulyo Kabupaten Malang.Desain penelitian ini Pre-Experimental dengan rancangan One- Group Pre-Post test design. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah semua lansia penderita hipertensi di Posyandu Ngudi Konco Desa Donomulyo Kecamatan Donomulyo Kabupaten Malang sebanyak 30 responden. Sampel diambil dengan teknik total sampling. Variabel penelitian yaitu pemberian air rebusan daun seledri sebagai variabel independent dan tekanan darah sebagai variabel dependen. Data yang di dapat melalui lembar observasi tekanan darah kemudian di uji dengan menggunakan uji paired t Test.Hasil uji paired t Test menunjukkan bahwa p = 0,000 α= 0,05 Ho di tolak dan H1 diterima sehingga air rebusan daun seledri efektif terhadap perubahan tekanan darah pada lansia di Posyandu Ngudi Konco Desa Donomulyo Kecamatan Donomulyo Kabupaten Malang.Terdapat penurunan jumlah penderita hipertensi sebelum dan sesudah diberikan air rebusan daun seledri. Responden agar dapat meningkatkan informasi tentang pelaksanaan tekanan darah sehingga dapat mengurangi tekanan darah yang dialami dengan cara non formakologi sehingga responden tidak hanya menggantungkan pada obat-obatan farmakologi dalam menurunkan tekanan darah.Kata kunci : Air Rebusan Daun Seledri, Tekanan Darah, Lansia ABSTRACTStill high hypertension was  one of the problems that affect the lifestyle and attitudes that encourage the emergence of hypertension. To handle blood pressure in people with hypertension generally take  medication from puskesmas, this routine was often disliked by the patient. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of boiling water celery leaves on changes in blood pressure in the elderly at Posyandu Ngudi Konco Donomulyo Village Donomulyo District Malang Regency.The design of this research was  Pre-Experimental with the design of One- Group Pre-Post test design. Population in this research was all elderly patient of hypertension in Posyandu Ngudi Konco Village Donomulyo District Donomulyo Malang Regency as many as 30 respondents. Samples were taken with total sampling technique. The research variable was giving boiled water of celery leaves as independent variable and blood pressure as dependent variable. The data can be through blood pressure observation sheet then tested by using paired t test.The result of paired t - test showed that p = 0.000 α = 0.05 Ho in rejection and H1 accepted so that boiling water celery leaf effective against blood pressure changes in elderly at Posyandu Ngudi Konco Donomulyo Village Donomulyo District Malang Regency. There was a decrease in the number of hypertensive patients before and after being given boiled water of celery leaves. Respondents in order to improve information about the implementation of blood pressure so as to reduce blood pressure experienced by non-formakologi way so that respondents not only rely on pharmacological drugs in lowering blood pressure. Key Words: Water Stew of Celery leaves, Blood Pressure, Elderly


2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142110038
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Benedetti

Placebos are fake therapies that can induce real therapeutic effects, called placebo effects. It goes without saying that what matters for inducing a placebo effect is not so much the fake treatment itself, but rather the therapeutic ritual that is carried out, which is capable of triggering psychobiological mechanisms in the patient’s brain. Both laypersons and scientists often accept the phenomenon of the placebo effect with reluctance, as fiction-induced clinical improvements are at odds with common sense. However, it should be emphasized that placebo effects are not surprising after all if one considers that fiction-induced physiological effects occur in everyday life. Movies provide one of the best examples of how fictitious reality can induce psychological and physiological responses, such as fear, love, and tears. In the same way that a horror movie induces fear-related physiological responses, even though the viewer knows everything is fake, so the sight of a syringe may trigger the release of pain-relieving chemicals in the patient’s brain, even if the patient knows there is a fake painkiller inside. From this perspective, placebos can be better conceptualized as rituals, actions, and fictions within a more general framework that emphasizes the power of psychological factors in everyday life, including the healing context.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Jiménez-Buedo

AbstractReactivity, or the phenomenon by which subjects tend to modify their behavior in virtue of their being studied upon, is often cited as one of the most important difficulties involved in social scientific experiments, and yet, there is to date a persistent conceptual muddle when dealing with the many dimensions of reactivity. This paper offers a conceptual framework for reactivity that draws on an interventionist approach to causality. The framework allows us to offer an unambiguous definition of reactivity and distinguishes it from placebo effects. Further, it allows us to distinguish between benign and malignant forms of the phenomenon, depending on whether reactivity constitutes a danger to the validity of the causal inferences drawn from experimental data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Tsunetsugu ◽  
Masaki Sugiyama

AbstractThis study investigates the physiological responses and subjective perceptions of touching wood. In particular, it focuses on their respective relationships with the amount of heat transfer across the hand–material interface during contact. The study participants included 55 university students (20 females and 35 males) who gave written informed consent. The participants’ blood pressure, pulse rate, and cerebral blood hemoglobin concentrations were measured continuously for 90 s while they gently held vertical bar-shaped specimens of Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), Japanese oak (Quercus crispula), polyethylene, and aluminum. The specimens also included wood with a surface coating. We measured subjective warmth and comfort as well as the heat flux between the palm and the surface of the material. The wooden materials were rated as significantly warmer compared to aluminum and polyethylene, regardless of the wood species (cypress or oak) or its coating; this result corresponds with smaller heat transfers in the wooden materials. Additionally, the wooden materials were more comfortable to hold as compared to the aluminum bar. Based on the changes in blood pressure, touching Japanese cypress and uncoated Japanese oak were interpreted to induce less physiological stress. Therefore, we can conclude that wood, with lower thermal conductivity, feels warm, and it causes relatively smaller physiological changes compared to other materials with higher thermal conductivity. Thus, they may present less physiological burdens when touched.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenz van Doornen ◽  
Jan Houtveen

Physiological stress measures at work: relevance, limitations, and findings Physiological stress measures at work: relevance, limitations, and findings L. van Doornen & J. Houtveen, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 22, September 2009, nr. 3, pp. 275-293 Physiological stress measures should only to a limited extent be considered as 'objective' indices of subjectively experienced work stress. Their contribution should mainly be sought in the quantification of the load on the body exerted by stress, the latter being the mediator of the health effects of work stress. For the most widely used physiological parameters in the field of work stress – blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac autonomic indices, adrenalin and cortisol – their physiology is described, their measurement techniques outlined, and an overall picture furnished with respect to differences observed between high- and low-work stress populations. Finally some suggestions are given with respect to future directions this field may take: focus on individual differences in physiological stress-sensitivity; quantification of recovery, and quantification of the effects of individual or workplace interventions.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieke Gijsbers ◽  
James Dower ◽  
Marco Mensink ◽  
Johanna M Geleijnse

Introduction: We performed a 12-week randomized placebo-controlled crossover study to examine the effects of sodium and potassium supplementation on blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness in untreated (pre)hypertensive individuals on a low-sodium, low-potassium diet. Methods: During the study, subjects were on a fully controlled diet that provided on average 2.4 g/d of sodium (equals 6 g/d of salt) and 2.2 g/d of potassium. After a 1-week run-in period, 37 subjects received capsules with supplemental sodium (3 g/d, equals 7.5 g/d of salt), supplemental potassium (3 g/d), or placebo, for four weeks each (not separated by wash-out), in random order. Fasting office BP, 24-h ambulatory BP, and measures of arterial stiffness (SphygmoCor®) were assessed at baseline and after each treatment. Results: Subjects had a mean pre-treatment BP of 145/81 mmHg and 68% (25 of 37) had systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 mmHg. In 36 subjects who completed the study, sodium supplementation increased urinary sodium by 97.6 mmol/24h (2.2 g/d) and potassium supplementation increased urinary potassium by 62.9 mmol/24h (2.5 g/d), compared to placebo (Table). Sodium supplementation significantly increased office BP by 7.5/3.3 mmHg, 24-h BP by 7.0/2.1 mmHg and central BP by 8.5/3.6 mmHg. Potassium supplementation significantly reduced 24-h BP by 4.0/1.7 mmHg. Measures of arterial stiffness did not change. Conclusion: Increasing the intake of sodium has a strong adverse effect on BP in untreated (pre)hypertensive individuals. Increased potassium intake, however, lowers BP even when people are on a reduced sodium diet. Short-term changes in sodium and potassium intake have little effect on arterial stiffness. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01575041


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Xiao ◽  
Leailin Huang Huang ◽  
Indika Edirisinghe ◽  
Britt Burton-Freeman

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of chronic strawberry intake on cardiovascular risk factors including fasting lipids concentrations, vascular endothelial function and blood pressure in middle-age overweight or obese individuals with moderate hypercholesterolemia. We hypothesized that 4-week strawberry intake would improve the lipids profile and concomitantly improve measures of vascular function. Methods In this randomized, double-blinded, controlled, crossover trial, thirty-four subjects (age 53 ± 1 years, BMI 31 ± 1 kg m-2, mean ± SD) consumed a strawberry beverage containing 25 gram freeze-dried strawberry powder or energy-matched control beverage in random order twice a day for 4 weeks. Treatment periods were separated by 4-week washout period. Fasting lipids, glucose, insulin, high sensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and postprandial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and blood pressure, were measured at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12. Results Fasting lipids, glucose, insulin, and hs-CRP did not differ between strawberry and control beverage interventions. In contrast, vascular function as measured by change in %FMD was significantly increased after strawberry compared to control after 4 weeks supplementation (4.3 ± 0.3% versus 3.6 ± 0.3%, respectively, p = 0.0096). In addition, %FMD was acutely increased from 0 to 1 hour after consuming strawberry beverage (p < 0.0001), which was consistent with reduced meal-induced increases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) postmeal (mean 2 hour changes in SBP after strawberry compared to control beverage, 2.3 ± 0.4 versus 3.4 ± 0.4 mmHg, p = 0.048). Conclusions Daily intake of strawberries may improve endothelial function and acute changes in blood pressure, independent of other metabolic changes, and may be considered a specific food/fruit to include in a heart-healthy diet in overweight or obese subjects with moderate hypercholesterolemia. Funding Sources California Strawberry Commission, Watsonville, CA, USA. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


Author(s):  
Biya Tang ◽  
Kirsten Barnes ◽  
Andrew Geers ◽  
Evan Livesey ◽  
Ben Colagiuri

Abstract Background Choice has been proposed as a method of enhancing placebo effects. However, there have been no attempts to systematically evaluate the magnitude, reliability, and moderators of the influence of choice on the placebo effect. Purpose To estimate the effect size of choice on the placebo effect and identify any moderators of this effect. Methods Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and PubMed were systematically searched from inception to May 2021 for studies comparing placebo treatment with any form of choice over its administration (e.g., type, timing) to placebo treatment without choice, on any health-related outcome. Random-effects meta-analysis was then used to estimate the effect size associated with the influence of choice on the placebo effect. Meta-regression was subsequently employed to determine the moderating effect of factors such as type of choice, frequency of choice, and size of the placebo effect without choice. Results Fifteen independent studies (N = 1,506) assessing a range of conditions, including pain, discomfort, sleep difficulty, and anxiety, met inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that choice did significantly enhance the placebo effect (Hedges’ g = 0.298). Size of the placebo effect without choice was the only reliable moderator of this effect, whereby a greater effect of choice was associated with smaller placebo effects without choice. Conclusions Treatment choice can effectively facilitate the placebo effect, but this effect appears more pronounced in contexts where the placebo effect without choice is weaker. Because most evidence to date is experimental, translational studies are needed to test whether providing choice in clinical scenarios where placebo effects are weaker may help boost the placebo effect and thereby improve patient outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1313-1322
Author(s):  
S. Fadlilah ◽  
A. Sucipto

Background: Blood pressure is influenced by psychosocial (stress), genetic, age, gender, nutritional status, and lifestyle (diet, lack of fiber consumption, smoking, lack of physical activity). 30 ml of young coconut water contains 61 mg of potassium, 5.45 mg of sodium, and 1.3 mg of sugar, affecting blood pressure changes. Coconut water contains K minerals and is useful for lowering blood pressure. Whereaswatermelon contains anti-hypertensive content, namely sodium, beta carotene, and potassium. Watermelon is rich in water, amino acids, L-arginine, which can maintain healthy blood pressure. Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of young coconut water and watermelon juice on blood pressure in the 2013 nursing students of Respati University Yogyakarta. Methods: This type of research is a quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group pre and post-test. The sample was taken by simple random sampling, namely the control group (18 respondents), the young coconut water group (18 respondents), and papaya juice (18 respondents). Data pre-posttest of each group was tested using Paired T-test. The comparison control-treatment group was tested using an independent-test. Results: The mean differences of systole and diastole pre-posttest blood pressure in the control group were -1.8 mmHg and -1.0 mmHg. The mean difference in systole blood pressure and the pre-posttest diastole of young coconut water groups were -3.1mmHg and -2.4 mmHg. The mean systole and diastole blood pressure in the pre-posttest watermelon juice group were -2.9 mmHg and -1.5 mmHg. The pre-posttest results of systole and diastole blood pressure analysis in the p-value control group were 0.100 and 0.450. The pre-post test results of systole and diastole blood pressure analysis of young coconut water groups gained p-value of 0.030 and 0.194. The pre-post test results of the juice watermelon group's systole and diastole blood pressure analysis gained p-value of 0.032 and 0.181. The posttest results of systole and diastole blood pressure analysis in the control group and young coconut water gained p-value of 0.014 and 0.157. The post-test results of the systole and diastole blood pressure analysis control group and juice watermelon gained p-value of 0.013 and 0.420. Conclusion: Consumption of young coconut water and watermelon juice affects systole blood pressure, but it does not affect diastole blood pressure in nursing students in 2013 in Respati University Yogyakarta. Keyword: Blood pressure, Coconut Water, Watermelon Juice


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