With the passage of time and research, it has been conclud that there is a very fine line that separates the mind from the body. Most of the sensations that our body experiences are prec by the mind. It is almost possible to say that what the mind believes, the body experiences.
At this point, much has been studi about the function of the mind in curing diseases, to such an extent that there are many convinced that all diseases start from the mind, and that through it they can be cur. For this reason, various studies have been carri out on the placebo effect in psychology , but what is the placebo effect.
How the placebo effect works
The placebo effect is bas on the improvement or disappearance of the symptoms of a disease in a patient by carrying out a treatment that has calling lists no real curative properties. Patients experience an improvement in symptoms by taking a harmless substance, without effects that can be directly related to that disease, so it is the mind that is in charge of convincing the body of those positive effects of the medication, which are non-existent.
In these cases, patients are unaware that they are being treat with substances without effect, but they tend to improve in a similar proportion to the improvement caus by a real medication. Through these studies, it has been proven that pain circuits and opioid secretion are actually modifi by the expectation of placebo.
The greater the expectation of improvement, the greater the placebo effect , and the conditioning in turn becomes greater.
The neurological bases of placebo
To make the process successful, other variables related to the patient’s perception come into play. For example, the patient’s mind will tend to gauge the sense of professionalism and competence of the doctor or pharmacist administering the treatment. Likewise, the sensation that the placebo itself creates in the patient is decisive, and will have to do with its size, price, presentation, appearance, etc.
Wager’s 2007 and 2009 studies showed that a patient who took a placebo presented as a pain reliever had a significant increase in the Book Your List secretion of endogenous opioids, which were also more effective. Similarly, neural pathways were activat that inhibit the transmission of pain by the spinal cord, so that they report a lower level of pain.
