Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28421648›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2017

Placebo-like analgesia via response imagery.

K J Peerdeman, A I M van Laarhoven, D J P Bartels, M L Peters, A W M Evers

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of pain (London, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Can the Open Label Placebo Rationale Be Optimized?Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2021
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. [Placebo and nocebo effects on itch : Methodological and clinical implications].Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete · 2018
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

K J PeerdemanUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
A I M van LaarhovenUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
D J P BartelsUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
M L PetersDepartment of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
A W M EversUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlacebo effects on pain are reliably observed in the literature. A core mechanism of these effects is response expectancies. Response expectancies can be formed by instructions, prior experiences and observation of others. Whether mental imagery of a response can also induce placebo-like expectancy effects on pain has not yet been studied systematically.

methodsIn Study 1, 80 healthy participants were randomly allocated to (i) response imagery or (ii) control imagery. In Study 2, 135 healthy participants were randomly allocated to (i) response imagery with a verbal suggestion regarding its effectiveness, (ii) response imagery only, or (iii) no intervention. In both studies, expected and experienced pain during cold pressor tests were measured pre- and post-intervention, along with psychological and physiological measures.

resultsParticipants rated pain as less intense after response imagery than after control imagery in Study 1 (p = 0.044, ηp2 = 0.054) and as less intense after response imagery (with or without verbal suggestion) than after no imagery in Study 2 (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.154). Adding a verbal suggestion did not affect pain (p = 0.068, ηp2 = 0.038). The effects of response imagery on experienced pain were mediated by expected pain.

conclusionsThus, in line with research on placebo effects, the current findings indicate that response imagery can induce analgesia, via its effects on response expectancies. SIGNIFICANCE: The reported studies extend research on placebo effects by demonstrating that mental imagery of reduced pain can induce placebo-like expectancy effects on pain.

Indexed as

Imagery, PsychotherapyPlacebo EffectAdultAnalgesiaCold TemperatureFemaleHumansMalePainPain ThresholdSuggestionYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID28421648
PMCPMC5573948

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Registered trials

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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.