Lecture Slides - Placebo (pg. 53-55)

Question 1

Expectancy effects are unique to every human, what do they rely on?

Answer 1

the individuals experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes

Question 2

What is the problem with attention and the placebo effect?

Answer 2

participation in a study may distract the individual from their symptoms

Question 3

T/F: side effects occur from placebo

Answer 3

true - side effects still occur, implying a second-order conditioning (to a metabolites that aren’t there)

Question 4

Placebo effects:

• Clinical vs Research studies
• Sensory vs Motor
• psychological vs physical

Answer 4

• clinical is better because people believe they are getting better treatment
• sensory is easier to treat because of dopamine systems
• psychological is easier to treat with placebo

Question 5

A good indicator that you are on a placebo is that you will not manifest a _____

Answer 5

tolerance

Question 6

Placebos make us “feel better” because we have an ____ to associate treatment with outcome

Answer 6

expectancy (learned)

Question 7

A placebo stimulates the ____ ____ area of the brain which then sends dopamine to the _____ cortex and ___ _____.

Answer 7

ventral tegmental; prefrontal; ventral striatum

Question 8

what does the ventral striatum do after it has been stimulated by dopamine from the ventral tegmental area?

Answer 8

the VS boosts the dopamine stimulation back to the prefrontal cortex

Question 9

what are the 3 most activated disease-specific mechanism as a result of the reward-dopamine mechanism?

Answer 9

opioids, dopamine, serotonin

Question 10

who has a higher response to placebo, men or women, children or adults?

Answer 10

men and children

Question 11

why do children have a better response to placebo?

Answer 11

they are in a stage of learning (plastic)- the dopaminergic system is always on - plus everything is so much more exciting to children = DOPAMINE