The placebo effect is one of the most striking phenomena in the field of psychology and physiology, still largely unexplored by modern science. In other words, we are simply reassuring ourselves that we are healthy and that we are ultimately getting better. This mechanism of our body's work once again confirms the idea of the amazing properties of the human brain.
Despite the fact that this theory has a certain meaning, there are still many questions that even scientists and doctors themselves are not able to answer. This article is devoted to considering 10 cognitive facts about the placebo effect.
10. Animals and the placebo effect
Fact: Placebo effect in dogs and other animals in addition to humans
Pharmaceutical companies use the same method to test drugs for dogs as they do with human drugs - the so-called "double-blind method." Experimental dogs suffering from epileptic seizures are divided into two groups: the first is given a drug, and the second is a placebo. The results showed that dogs in the second group were also on the mend. This became proof that the placebo effect is inherent not only in humans, but also in animals.
In studies on Siberian hamsters, it turned out that most animals experience something similar to the placebo effect, depending on the environment and the available body energy. After being placed in a winter-like environment, the hamsters slept more to maintain their strength. This behavior of the body helps explain why we need this or that pill to recover. By and large, for the placebo effect to manifest itself, external stimulation is necessary.
9. The effectiveness of antidepressants is a myth
Fact: In fact, antidepressants don't help
Of course, depression is associated with the work of our brain, which directly affects the state of a person. In recent years, doctors have prescribed massive amounts of antidepressants to their patients. And it seems to work: most people, after taking the prescribed medication, got rid of the signs of depression. However, several outstanding studies have shown that placebos can achieve the same results while eliminating side effects. Besides the placebo effect, there are other ways to manage stress.
These discoveries are quite logically denied by many pharmaceutical companies, which have lost millions of dollars after the decline in the popularity of antidepressants. At the same time, these are encouraging facts for people suffering from mental illness, because we see that disorders of this nature are treatable without the use of any dangerous chemicals.
8. Placebo hopping
Fact: The placebo effect can be used to induce intoxication.
More often this is typical for women, because they require less alcohol to get drunk. We no longer have to pay huge drinking bills at the bar - we can just tell ourselves that we are drunk. The researchers found that those who drank a simple lime tonic, but thought it was vodka, had the thought disturbances inherent in drunk people. They performed worse on simple tests, and their IQ levels dropped.
There is a video on YouTube showing a similar situation: at one of the parties, freshmen, without knowing it, were drinking non-alcoholic beer. The result is extremely hilarious.
7. Influence of the environment
Fact: Your place of residence is reflected in the placebo effect
Americans suffer from hypochondria more often than people of other nations. For some reason, they tend to attribute tremendous power to those medicines that are injected into the veins (most likely because they believe in the healing power of injections from childhood). In contrast, Europeans rely more on placebo pills than injections.
It seems that cultural factors determine how the placebo effect is manifested. For example, placebo drugs used to treat ulcers work much better in Germany than in Brazil. However, a pilot trial of drugs for hypertension showed that the Germans were the least susceptible to them. Cultural attitudes that powerfully influence our hopes, fears, and expectations cause the placebo effect to change depending on where you are in the world.
6. Works even if you know about it
Fact: The placebo continues to work even when you realize it is a placebo.
The way the placebo effect works is that people who believe they are getting real drugs will get better. But it turned out that even if a person discovers that his medications are fake, he is still on the mend.
During the trials, over time, patients were told that the drugs they were taking were placebo. One might think that after that the positive effect of the treatment would stop or slow down. But this did not happen, and the subjects decided to continue taking their medication.
5. Placebos and infections
Fact: You can achieve a placebo effect with fake infections that have nothing to do with disease
Continuing the conversation about experiments, the next one may seem rather far-fetched to absolutely all of its participants. A group of doctors wanted to know if it was possible with the help of parasitic worms to alleviate the condition of people with asthma. To do this, the subjects were divided into two groups, one of which was actually infected with helminths (worms), and patients from the other group were told that they were infected, although in reality this was not the case.
The infected group noted improvements. But in the second group, the state of health of the patients improved. This result was achieved thanks to the placebo effect. Interestingly, after the completion of the research, most of those who were infected with parasites with worms decided not to get rid of them, since they believed in their positive effect.
4. Nocebo
Fact: The placebo effect has an antipode - the nocebo effect
In the same way that the placebo effect is influenced by our belief in the effectiveness of drugs, the expectation of the opposite effect can adversely affect the treatment process. This phenomenon has many manifestations and is called "nocebo effect».
One famous study on nocebo was conducted in Italy. People with and without lactose intolerance accepted what they were presented with lactose, but in fact it was not. As a result, 44% of subjects with intolerance and 26% without it developed symptoms of gastrointestinal upset.
If diarrhea or stomach cramps are unimpressed, imagine losing faith in your manhood just because your doctor told you so. Unfortunately, studies in men who take Finasteride to treat an enlarged prostate have shown that the nocebo effect works with real drugs as well. For half of the participants in the experiment, doctors said that one of the side effects could be sexual dysfunction, and the other half did not. 44% of the first group and only 15% of the second reported having a side effect.
One patient on an antidepressant test swallowed 26 placebo pills in an attempt to commit suicide. And, despite the fact that these pills were completely harmless, his blood pressure dropped to extremely low levels.
3. Color of medicines
Fact: The color of placebo drugs affects their effectiveness.
People are extremely sensitive to shapes and colors on a subconscious level. Our own sense of how well a pill works can often affect how it actually works. And this feeling largely depends on parameters such as the size, shape and color of the tablet.
Scientists have found that yellow placebo pills are most effective in treating depression, while red pills give a boost of vigor. In turn, green tablets help relieve feelings of anxiety, and white ones - get rid of stomach ailments, such as ulcers. The more placebo pills you take, the better. They should not be taken 2 times a day, but 4. Pills with a well-known name on the package also work better. It turns out that people rely on external factors even when taking counterfeit drugs.
2. Placebo surgery
Fact: Placebo surgery is also effective in treating injuries
Imagine that you have suffered an injury that requires surgery and postoperative treatment to fix the limb and relieve pain. Now imagine that a month later, the doctor tells you that in reality, at the time “operations”They didn’t do anything to you, except for an incision, so that you think that the operation took place.
During which it turned out that fake transactions can be as effective as real ones. This discovery takes the placebo effect to a whole new level. The best thing about all this is the price of a fake operation, which is several times less than the real one.
1. Increasing efficiency
Fact: The placebo effect has become more prominent in recent years
The placebo effect was first discovered in the late 1700s, but its nature remained unclear until the 1970s. However, it seems that the more experts learn about the effect through numerous experiments, the stronger the placebo effect is. It is generally accepted that this is the result of the influence of the environment on humans. We believe in doctors too much. As medical technology modernizes and mortality decreases, our faith in medicine grows stronger.
It is not unusual for us to see a doctor, have a medical check-up, go to a pharmacy and buy medicines. We expect them to recover, and over time our expectations have become even more pronounced, since we trust science more. In the Middle Ages, the reasons for going to a doctor were very weighty, and many people died in the course of treatment. But today, when the possibilities of medicine are very great, the faith in medicines will continue to grow. At the same time, the placebo effect will also be strengthened.
