What is the placebo effect?
What is the placebo effect?
Overview of the placebo effect.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Conventional wisdom has it that the active ingredient in a medication is responsible for its healing effect. But studies have shown that placebos, that is, tablets made only of inert lactose or starch with no active ingredient, can influence the healing process. A needle has the strongest effect. Even looking at one can alleviate the pain. Such mechanisms only work, however, when doctor and patient talk to one another. This allows the patient to believe that they will be healed, which forms the basis of the placebo effect.
PROFESSOR MANFRED SCHEDLOWSKI: "Simply talking to the doctor and establishing a trusting relationship has a placebo effect all of its own. It has been conclusively documented in a number of studies that this trusting relationship increases the patient's belief that they will be healed by the medication or course of treatment the doctor has prescribed."
NARRATOR: With no positive expectations, the placebo effect does not work. It's well known that the brain, or rather the mind, plays a crucial role in the placebo effect. But what exactly is going on in the brain?
PROFESSOR HARALD WALACH: "The changes we see in the brain are the result of the release of certain substances, which cause the brain to transmit messages. These substances also have immunological effects, that is they alter the immune system, as well as the metabolic system. This is at the very core of the placebo effect."
NARRATOR: Neurological imaging techniques have shown that the placebo effect is the result of an interaction between the therapist and the patient's brain. In the future, this relationship will form a cornerstone of medical treatment.
SCHEDLOWSKI: "Nowadays, we know that the placebo effect really exists thanks to these neuropsychological mechanisms. It's like activating the body's very own pharmacy, as some of my colleagues have very aptly put it. Now, though, the challenge is to discover how we can use these neuropsychological pathways to more effectively target the placebo effect and increase its healing potential."
NARRATOR: In short, the placebo effect allows the patients to heal themselves. To turn this into a real breakthrough, the role of the patient's mind in the healing process needs to be increasingly considered in tomorrow's medical practices.
PROFESSOR MANFRED SCHEDLOWSKI: "Simply talking to the doctor and establishing a trusting relationship has a placebo effect all of its own. It has been conclusively documented in a number of studies that this trusting relationship increases the patient's belief that they will be healed by the medication or course of treatment the doctor has prescribed."
NARRATOR: With no positive expectations, the placebo effect does not work. It's well known that the brain, or rather the mind, plays a crucial role in the placebo effect. But what exactly is going on in the brain?
PROFESSOR HARALD WALACH: "The changes we see in the brain are the result of the release of certain substances, which cause the brain to transmit messages. These substances also have immunological effects, that is they alter the immune system, as well as the metabolic system. This is at the very core of the placebo effect."
NARRATOR: Neurological imaging techniques have shown that the placebo effect is the result of an interaction between the therapist and the patient's brain. In the future, this relationship will form a cornerstone of medical treatment.
SCHEDLOWSKI: "Nowadays, we know that the placebo effect really exists thanks to these neuropsychological mechanisms. It's like activating the body's very own pharmacy, as some of my colleagues have very aptly put it. Now, though, the challenge is to discover how we can use these neuropsychological pathways to more effectively target the placebo effect and increase its healing potential."
NARRATOR: In short, the placebo effect allows the patients to heal themselves. To turn this into a real breakthrough, the role of the patient's mind in the healing process needs to be increasingly considered in tomorrow's medical practices.