4 ms·

You might find this quite interesting: http://programinplacebostudies.org/ http://programinplacebostudies.org/ http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/the-placebo-

by api 14y ago

You might find this quite interesting: http://programinplacebostudies.org/ http://programinplacebostudies.org/ http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/the-placebo-phenomenon http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/the-placebo-phenomenon His studies comparing fakes strike me as the most innovative thing I've heard about in medicine in years. A big problem with "conventional" medicine is this: the mind is off limits. This legacy I think goes back to the suppression of deep mind research following the psychedelics moral panic in the late 1960s/early 1970s. They were doing really interesting stuff back then, but the societal effects of probing deep into the mind caused the entire academy to purge itself of really challenging, imaginative research in these areas. Our society is really terrified of that stuff. We like our doors of perception safely nailed shut. I also think this comes from the mind/body dichotomy. The mind and body are not disconnected entities. The mind is a part of the body. As such, the mind is going to have a profound influence over the body. The placebo effect itself proves this, as do the studies you cite and numerous others.

robbiep 14y ago
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I agree that the mind's contribution has been shut out of things. I don't think it's right but I do think there has been sound reason not to: we just don't understand enough about how the interaction works. We are entering into a really interesting new era as investigation into these areas begins again
- api 14y ago
  The "set and setting" hypothesis is strongly supported by the fact that in the studies I linked fake acupuncture outperformed a fake pain pill for the treatment of pain. My current hypothesis on homeopathy is that it's a placebo surrounded by some interesting mythology and a good story that serves to enhance its placebo effect by priming the subject. THAT is what really needs to be studied. If this could be understood, we could have a genuine complimentary medicine rooted in science that addressed the mind side of the equation coincidentally with conventional medicine addressing the body. I was ecstatic to learn about that Harvard Medical School program, which is looking at just those kinds of hypotheses. The other thing though -- and this is the hard thing for skeptics -- is that if this is true, it means these things may not be 100% quackery and fraud. There is something happening here, just not what the practitioners think is happening. It's in the patient's head, but also "real" in the sense that front-loaded placebo outperforms a null treatment.

by api 14y ago

robbiep 14y ago

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I agree that the mind's contribution has been shut out of things. I don't think it's right but I do think there has been sound reason not to: we just don't understand enough about how the interaction works. We are entering into a really interesting new era as investigation into these areas begins again

api 14y ago
The "set and setting" hypothesis is strongly supported by the fact that in the studies I linked fake acupuncture outperformed a fake pain pill for the treatment of pain. My current hypothesis on homeopathy is that it's a placebo surrounded by some interesting mythology and a good story that serves to enhance its placebo effect by priming the subject. THAT is what really needs to be studied. If this could be understood, we could have a genuine complimentary medicine rooted in science that addressed the mind side of the equation coincidentally with conventional medicine addressing the body. I was ecstatic to learn about that Harvard Medical School program, which is looking at just those kinds of hypotheses. The other thing though -- and this is the hard thing for skeptics -- is that if this is true, it means these things may not be 100% quackery and fraud. There is something happening here, just not what the practitioners think is happening. It's in the patient's head, but also "real" in the sense that front-loaded placebo outperforms a null treatment.