ReviewNeuroscience2015
The placebo effect: From concepts to genes.
Review in Neuroscience, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03446456 (The Influence of Vasopressin on Observational Learning of Placebo Analgesia), which is not on this map. Cited by 101 papers, 5 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.
The Influence of Vasopressin on Observational Learning of Placebo Analgesia
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 258 citations in OpenAlex.
- Short-term and long-term efficacy of accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Placebo and nocebo effects and mechanisms associated with pharmacological interventions: an umbrella review.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Use of Placebo and Nonoperative Control Groups in Surgical Trials: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- The Influence of Placebo Effect on Craving and Cognitive Performance in Alcohol, Caffeine, or Nicotine Consumers: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Meta-analysis evaluating music interventions for anxiety and pain in surgery.The British journal of surgery · 2018Pooled it
- The role of expectations and tailored feedback on the open-label Placebo effect.Journal of health psychology · 2026Trial
- Cost-Effectiveness of Oral Immunotherapy Treatments vs No Treatment for Peanut Allergy in Children.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Is it personality or genes? - A secondary analysis on a randomized controlled trial investigating responsiveness to placebo analgesia.Scandinavian journal of pain · 2025Trial
- Subjective cognition and mood in persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2022Trial
- The influence of message framing on nocebo headaches: Findings from a randomized laboratory design.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2022Trial
- Temporal expectancy induced by the mere possession of a placebo analgesic affects placebo analgesia: preliminary findings from a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Baseline functional connectivity may predict placebo responses to accelerated rTMS treatment in major depression.Human brain mapping · 2020Trial
- Nicotinic treatment of post-chemotherapy subjective cognitive impairment: a pilot study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2019Trial
- Placebo aiTBS attenuates suicidal ideation and frontopolar cortical perfusion in major depression.Translational psychiatry · 2019Trial
- Non-specific effects and clusters of women with painful TMD responders and non-responders to LLLT: double-blind randomized clinical trial.Lasers in medical science · 2018Trial
- Effect of acupuncture and instruction on physiological recovery from maximal exercise: a balanced-placebo controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2016Trial
- Influence of different positioning of a local pain catheter on postoperative pain after paramedian laparotomy-a blinded, randomized trial.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2016Trial
- The Placebo Effect in Rare Disease Clinical Trials: Measurement, Impact, and Statistical Approaches for Patient-as-Own-Control Designs.Clinical and translational science · 2026Review
- Comparison of Patient Expectations and Perceptions Among Physiotherapists in the Field of Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation: A Cross-Sectional, Questionnaire-Based Study.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
41 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
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Despite its initial treatment as a nuisance variable, the placebo effect is now recognized as a powerful determinant of health across many different diseases and encounters. This is in light of some remarkable findings ranging from demonstrations that the placebo effect significantly modulates the response to active treatments in conditions such as pain, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, and some surgical procedures. Here, we review pioneering studies and recent advances in behavioral, neurobiological, and genetic influences on the placebo effect. Consistent with recent conceptualizations, the placebo effect is presented as the product of a general expectancy learning mechanism in which verbal, conditioned, and social cues are centrally integrated to change behaviors and outcomes. Examples of the integration of verbal and conditioned cues, such as instructed reversal of placebo effects are also incorporated into this model. We discuss neuroimaging studies that have identified key brain regions and modulatory mechanisms underlying placebo effects using well-established behavioral paradigms. Finally, we present a synthesis of recent genetics studies on the placebo effect, highlighting a promising link between genetic variants in the dopamine, opioid, serotonin, and endocannabinoid pathways and placebo responsiveness. Greater understanding of the behavioral, neurobiological, and genetic influences on the placebo effect is critical for evaluating medical interventions and may allow health professionals to tailor and personalize interventions in order to maximize treatment outcomes in clinical settings.
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.