ReviewAnnual review of pharmacology and toxicology2019
The Placebo Effect in Pain Therapies.
Review in Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 129 papers, 9 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.
Neural Correlates of Hypoalgesia Driven by Observation
Neural Mechanisms of Immersive Virtual Reality in Chronic Pain
Diode Laser as a Biomarker for Neuropathic Pain of Peripheral Origin.
Neural Mechanisms of Immersive Virtual Reality in Chronic Pain
Who cites it
129 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Meta-Analysis of the Placebo Response in Chronic and Episodic Migraine: Insights from Migraine Preventive Drug Trials.The AAPS journal · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of pharmacotherapy for atypical facial pain: evaluation of pain reduction, depression, anxiety and quality of life.Annals of medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic qualitative review of ethical issues in open label placebo in published research.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Irritable bowel syndrome in children: the placebo response rate and influencing factors a meta-analysis.Pediatric research · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of antiresorptive agents in fibrous dysplasia and McCune Albright syndrome, a systematic review and meta-analysis.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Placebo administration for dry eye disease: a level I evidence based systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of contextual factors on patient outcomes following conservative low back pain treatment: systematic review.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Randomized Placebo-/Sham-Controlled Trials of Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Systematic Review and Methodological Appraisal.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Clinical Efficacy of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy on Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Pain: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Trial
- Beyond expectations: nocebo suggestion affects cognitive performance in older adults.Psychological research · 2026Trial
- Platelet-Rich Fibrin in Surgical Wound Healing of Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: A Pilot Clinical Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Trial
- Brain functional basis of the association between positive expectation and acupuncture efficacy in knee osteoarthritis.Brain imaging and behavior · 2026Trial
- Does radial shockwave therapy lead to immediate improvements in pain in people with insertional Achilles tendinopathy? A randomised controlled trial.Clinical rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Long-lasting effect of penetrating acupuncture among responders: Double-blind RCT of acupuncture for vulvodynia.The journal of pain · 2026Trial
- Associations between expectations and responses to chronic resistance exercise in young adults with and without analogue generalized anxiety disorder.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Multi-wave locked system laser therapy in chronic non-specific neck pain: a double-blind placebo randomized-controlled trial.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Trial
- Treatment expectations and pain-related outcomes in clinical trials of digital cognitive-behavioral therapy for youth with chronic pain.The journal of pain · 2025Trial
- Independent effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and social influence on pain.Pain · 2025Trial
69 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
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Pharmacological strategies for pain management have primarily focused on dampening ascending neurotransmission and on opioid receptor-mediated therapies. Little is known about the contribution of endogenous descending modulatory systems to clinical pain outcomes and why some patients are mildly affected while others suffer debilitating pain-induced dysfunctions. Placebo effects that arise from patients' positive expectancies and the underlying endogenous modulatory mechanisms may in part account for the variability in pain experience and severity, adherence to treatment, distinct coping strategies, and chronicity. Expectancy-induced analgesia and placebo effects in general have emerged as useful models to assess individual endogenous pain modulatory systems. Different systems and mechanisms trigger placebo effects that highly impact pain processing, clinical outcomes, and sense of well-being. This review illustrates critical elements of placebo mechanisms that inform the methodology of clinical trials, the discovery of new therapeutic targets, and the advancement of personalized pain management.
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.