Hey David , great article, your insights on how cultural context and neurobiology influence placebo responses is interesting. It’s clear that there’s so much more to explore in this area. I’m curious, how do you personally navigate these ethical issues? And do you think advancements in understanding genetics could change how we approach placebo use in the future?
Glad you enjoyed Marius and appreciate the feedback as always!
Personally, it's quite difficult in the health setting. In the performance setting most people probably consider it part of coaching to a degree. When it came to health, there were certainly things I did to influence the belief effect eg how I presented myself etc. I would also spend extra time to explain things to patients which again could be construed as manipulation of the placebo effect. OR as I argued in this piece, is probably just 'good medicine' and I think we lump too much into 'the placebo effect'.
I think if we are open enough to learning, the genetics and more granular understanding of placebo means we could well start to harness this for good. For instance, individualised packaging to fit your personal conditioning for medications (maybe your headache pills are green not white). I also think we may start to change our understanding of the issues as a result of this research.
Hey David , great article, your insights on how cultural context and neurobiology influence placebo responses is interesting. It’s clear that there’s so much more to explore in this area. I’m curious, how do you personally navigate these ethical issues? And do you think advancements in understanding genetics could change how we approach placebo use in the future?
Glad you enjoyed Marius and appreciate the feedback as always!
Personally, it's quite difficult in the health setting. In the performance setting most people probably consider it part of coaching to a degree. When it came to health, there were certainly things I did to influence the belief effect eg how I presented myself etc. I would also spend extra time to explain things to patients which again could be construed as manipulation of the placebo effect. OR as I argued in this piece, is probably just 'good medicine' and I think we lump too much into 'the placebo effect'.
I think if we are open enough to learning, the genetics and more granular understanding of placebo means we could well start to harness this for good. For instance, individualised packaging to fit your personal conditioning for medications (maybe your headache pills are green not white). I also think we may start to change our understanding of the issues as a result of this research.