Medical What is the role of the spinal cord in placebo analgesia?

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The discussion focuses on the findings of a study that provides direct evidence for spinal cord involvement in placebo analgesia, demonstrating that psychological factors significantly influence pain perception. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that placebo treatment leads to a marked reduction in pain-related activity in the spinal cord, supporting the idea that placebo analgesia operates through spinal inhibition. This highlights the role of psychological factors in the early stages of pain processing within the central nervous system. Participants also raised questions about the nature of pain perception, suggesting that some individuals may not experience real pain but rather imagined discomfort, as illustrated by personal anecdotes regarding pain management and the effectiveness of medications.
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Direct Evidence for Spinal Cord Involvement in Placebo Analgesia
Falk Eippert, Jürgen Finsterbusch, Ulrike Bingel, Christian Büchel

Placebo analgesia is a prime example of the impact that psychological factors have on pain perception. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging of the human spinal cord to test the hypothesis that placebo analgesia results in a reduction of nociceptive processing in the spinal cord. In line with behavioral data that show decreased pain responses under placebo, pain-related activity in the spinal cord is strongly reduced under placebo. These results provide direct evidence for spinal inhibition as one mechanism of placebo analgesia and highlight that psychological factors can act on the earliest stages of pain processing in the central nervous system.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/5951/404
 
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http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20081023/50percent-of-doctors-give-fake-prescriptions"

I wonder what they charge for these treatments?
 
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Borg said:
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20081023/50percent-of-doctors-give-fake-prescriptions"

I wonder what they charge for these treatments?

I think you get 20% off on a placebo... :biggrin:
 
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so i guess placebos wouldn't have much effect on trigeminal neuralgia, then?
 
Pythagorean said:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/326/5951/404
Have they considered that the patients that responded to placebos aren't actually suffering real pain, but that it's imagined?

I suffer from chronic pain, and believe me, I can tell when I have received pain medication. Sometimes I think I have taken pain meds and wonder why I am still in pain, then find my meds on a counter where I absent-mindedly laid them.

A good example was my recent surgery and the pain medication was adminstered through my IV. The nurse told me that I had received my pain medication, but the pain kept increasing, then they found out that the auto dispenser was turned off.
 

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