ArticleNature medicine2011
Nonopioid placebo analgesia is mediated by CB1 cannabinoid receptors.
Article in Nature medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
100 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 286 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors associated with a placebo effect in Parkinson's disease in clinical trials: a meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Placebo administration for dry eye disease: a level I evidence based systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2022Pooled it
- Placebo Responses Among Men With Erectile Dysfunction Enrolled in Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitor Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2020Pooled it
- Prayer for Pain and Anxiety in a Primary Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Annals of family medicine · 2026Trial
- Beyond Sharing Unpleasant Affect-Evidence for Pain-Specific Opioidergic Modulation of Empathy for Pain.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2021Trial
- Molecular classification of the placebo effect in nausea.PloS one · 2020Trial
- Intrathecal morphine administration reduces postoperative pain and peripheral endocannabinoid levels in total knee arthroplasty patients: a randomized clinical trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2018Trial
- Dronabinol Is a Safe Long-Term Treatment Option for Neuropathic Pain Patients.European neurology · 2017Trial
- Vasopressin Boosts Placebo Analgesic Effects in Women: A Randomized Trial.Biological psychiatry · 2016Trial
- Different Placebos, Different Mechanisms, Different Outcomes: Lessons for Clinical Trials.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Cognitive factors mediate placebo responses in patients with house dust mite allergy.PloS one · 2013Trial
- Naltrexone during pain conditioning: A double-blind placebo-controlled experimental trial.Molecular painTrial
- Placebo and nocebo effects on pain through the lens of the predictive brain: Neurobiological mechanisms and translational implications.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Top-down control of the descending pain modulatory system drives multimodal placebo analgesia.Neuron · 2026Article
- The Contribution of Baseline Circulating Endocannabinoids to Individual Differences in Human Pain Sensitivity: A Quantitative Sensory Testing Study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Review
- Convergent state-control of endogenous opioid analgesia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Over the counter CBD products in Germany: an exploratory survey about consumption patterns and health related effects.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Clinical neuroscience and neurobiology of placebo and nocebo effects.International review of neurobiology · 2025Review
- Self-regulated analgesia in males but not females is mediated by endogenous opioids.PNAS nexus · 2024Article
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Placebo analgesia is mediated by both opioid and nonopioid mechanisms, but so far nothing is known about the nonopioid component. Here we show that the specific CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-methyl-N-(piperidin-1-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide (rimonabant or SR141716) blocks nonopioid placebo analgesic responses but has no effect on opioid placebo responses. These findings suggest that the endocannabinoid system has a pivotal role in placebo analgesia in some circumstances when the opioid system is not involved.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.