Nature Communications (Sep 2018)

Brain and psychological determinants of placebo pill response in chronic pain patients

  • Etienne Vachon-Presseau,
  • Sara E. Berger,
  • Taha B. Abdullah,
  • Lejian Huang,
  • Guillermo A. Cecchi,
  • James W. Griffith,
  • Thomas J. Schnitzer,
  • A. Vania Apkarian

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05859-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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People vary in the extent to which they feel better after taking an inert, placebo, treatment, but the basis for individual placebo response is unclear. Here, the authors show how brain structural and functional variables, as well as personality traits, predict placebo response in those with chronic back pain.