articleScienceFeb 19, 2004Closed access

Placebo-Induced Changes in fMRI in the Anticipation and Experience of Pain

University of Wisconsin–Madison · Harvard University · +5 more institutions

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

The experience of pain arises from both physiological and psychological factors, including one's beliefs and expectations. Thus, placebo treatments that have no intrinsic pharmacological effects may produce analgesia by altering expectations. However, controversy exists regarding whether placebos alter sensory pain transmission, pain affect, or simply produce compliance with the suggestions of investigators. In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, we found that placebo analgesia was related to decreased brain activity in pain-sensitive brain regions, including the thalamus, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, and was associated with increased activity during anticipation of pain in…

Citation impact

2,005
total citations
FWCI
53.24
Percentile
100%
References
36
Citations per year

Authors

9

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Placebo
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging
  • Anticipation (artificial intelligence)
  • Anterior cingulate cortex
  • Insula
  • Psychology
  • Cingulate cortex
  • Thalamus
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Good health and well-being
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