8 - complementary theories and placebo effects Flashcards
define complementary therapies
a group of therapies that share a focus on, or integration of, treatment of mind and spirit as well as body
focus of complementary therapy
symptom relief
prevention
why are many people not confident with the benefits of alternative therapy
there is much less supporting evidence
however this does not mean it is not effective
how might complementary therapy benefit the NHS
pain or discomfort relief for patients
improvement of well-being for patients
may save NHS money
what might prevent the NHS from offering complementary therapies
little/no evidence to suggest that they arent harmful
NHS has limited resources
treatments must be cost-effective
examples of complementary therapy
acupuncture acupressure aromatherapy herbal medicine yoga reiki
definition of placebo effects
treatment effects of remedies that are not understood to have any direct link to the outcome
features of placebo effects
mimic drug effects
mimic drug side effects
powerful
complex interaction between psychological and physiological mechanisms
research evidence that shows that placebos have important effects
van Laarhoven 2015
systematic review of 34 trials of people with chronic itch due to a skin condition e.g. psoriasis
results:
placebo arm significantly decreased itch compared with baseline (1.3 out of 10)
psychological mechanisms of placebo effect
outcome expectancies
classical conditioning
neurobiological mechanisms of placebo effect
opioid mechanisms
non-opioid mechanisms
what factors influence outcome expectancies of treatment
manipulation via verbal cues
mode of treatment delivery (IV, oral, cream)
how does classical conditioning work in the placebo effect
repeated associations between neutral stimulus and an active drug (unconditioned stimulus)
neutral stimulus elicits response characteristic of the unconditioned stimulus
disadvantage of relying on the classical conditioning mechanism
its difficult to exclude any other cognitive components in human trials such as outcome expectancies
opioid mechanisms
underly placebo effect
changes in brain activity can be seen using PET imaging or fMRI similar to opioid changes following placebo administration
role of opioid antagonist naloxone
administered to completely or partly reverse the pain related placebo effects
role of opioid antagonist naloxone
administered to completely or partly reverse the pain related placebo effects