Originally published September 7 2005
Brain's natural painkillers play role in placebo effect
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new brain imaging study shows endorphins in the brain, the brain's natural painkillers, may play a big role in the placebo effect, and study participants given a placebo showed an increase in activity in the endorphin system compared to those given a real drug.
Sometimes, just thinking you are receiving treatment is enough to make you feel better, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.
A new brain imaging study suggests that the body's natural painkillers, endorphins, play a significant role.
Previous studies had shown general changes in brain activity associated with the placebo effect by using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and scientists had hypothesized that the brain's opioid system was involved.
This time, by utilizing positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans for the new work, the researchers were able to focus on a specific type of brain receptor and track its response to a placebo.
The PET scans employed by Jon-Kar Zubieta of the University of Michigan and his colleagues measured the activity of mu-opioid receptors, which are an integral part of the body's natural painkilling system and help transmit pain signals from one nerve cell to the next.
Over the course of a 20-minute procedure, volunteers recorded the intensity of their pain every 15 seconds and then summarized their experience afterward.
In a randomized trial, some subjects received an analgesic medication, whereas others were told they were being given medication, but received none.
ADVERTISEMENT (article continues below) According to a report published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, all of the participants who were told to expect medicine but got a placebo instead showed an increase in the activity of their endorphin system.
"This deals a serious blow to the idea that the placebo effect is a purely psychological, not physical, phenomenon," Zubieta says.
"We were able to see that the endorphin system was activated in pain-related areas of the brain, and that activity increased when someone was told they were receiving a medicine to ease their pain."
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