ArticleTheoretical biology & medical modelling2017
Possible contribution of quantum-like correlations to the placebo effect: consequences on blind trials.
Article in Theoretical biology & medical modelling, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Existence of Quantum Pharmacology in Sartans: Evidence in Isolated Rabbit Iliac Arteries.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Differences between experimental and placebo arms in manual therapy trials: a methodological review.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Review
- Benveniste's Experiments Explained by a Non-Conventional Experimenter Effect.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundFactors that participate in the biological changes associated with a placebo are not completely understood. Natural evolution, mean regression, concomitant procedures and other non specific effects are well-known factors that contribute to the "placebo effect". In this article, we suggest that quantum-like correlations predicted by a probabilistic modeling could also play a role.
resultsAn elementary experiment in biology or medicine comparing the biological changes associated with two placebos is modeled. The originality of this modeling is that experimenters, biological system and their interactions are described together from the standpoint of a participant who is uninvolved in the measurement process. Moreover, the small random probability fluctuations of a "real" experiment are also taken into account. If both placebos are inert (with only different labels), common sense suggests that the biological changes associated with the two placebos should be comparable. However, the consequence of this modeling is the possibility for two placebos to be associated with different outcomes due to the emergence of quantum-like correlations.
conclusionThe association of two placebos with different outcomes is counterintuitive and this modeling could give a framework for some unexplained observations where mere placebos are compared (in some alternative medicines for example). This hypothesis can be tested in blind trials by comparing local vs. remote assessment of correlations.
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