Trial reportScientific reports2021
Effects of open-label placebos on test performance and psychological well-being in healthy medical students: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of open-label placebos across populations and outcomes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic qualitative review of ethical issues in open label placebo in published research.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Dispositional optimism and open-label placebo responses in hair cortisol concentrations and psychological distress-A randomized controlled trial.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Trial
- The role of expectations and tailored feedback on the open-label Placebo effect.Journal of health psychology · 2026Trial
- Open-label placebos reduce hair cortisol concentrations and psychological distress - a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Roles of administration route, expectation, and belief in placebos in a randomized controlled trial with open-label placebos.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Open-label placebos enhance test performance and reduce anxiety in learner drivers: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Open-label placebo treatment does not enhance cognitive abilities in healthy volunteers.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Effects of an open-label placebo intervention on reactions to social exclusion in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- A randomized trial that compared brain activity, efficacy and plausibility of open-label placebo treatment and cognitive repappraisal for reducing emotional distress.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- The impact of pharmaceutical form and simulated side effects in an open-label-placebo RCT for improving psychological distress in highly stressed students.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Imaginary pills and open-label placebos can reduce test anxiety by means of placebo mechanisms.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Deceptive and open-label placebo effects in experimentally induced guilt: a randomized controlled trial in healthy subjects.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Can positive expectations help to improve the learning of risk literacy? A cluster-randomized study in undergraduate medical students.BMC medical education · 2022Trial
- Lay perspectives of the open-label placebo rationale: a qualitative study of participants in an experimental trial.BMJ open · 2021Trial
- Open-label placebo treatment to improve relaxation training effects in healthy psychology students: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Review
- Effects of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation on open-label placebo responses.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Open-label placebo effects on psychological distress and hair cortisol in a randomized controlled trial - the moderating role of the five-factor personality traits.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Effects of an open-label placebo on divergent thinking performance.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Psychological distress is prevalent in students and can predispose to psychiatric disorders. Recent findings indicate that distress might be linked to impaired cognitive performance in students. Experimental findings in healthy participants suggest that placebo interventions can improve cognition. However, whether non-deceptive (i.e., open-label, OLP) placebos can enhance cognitive function and emotional well-being is unclear. Using a randomized-controlled design we demonstrate a positive impact of OLP on subjective well-being (i.e., stress, fatigue, and confusion) after a 21-day OLP application in healthy students during midterm exams. OLP did not improve test performance, but, within the OLP group, test performance was positively correlated with measures of general belief in the benefit of medication. These results show that OLP can counteract negative effects of acute stress on psychological well-being and might improve cognitive performance if supported by positive treatment expectations. Additionally, our findings in healthy volunteers warrant further investigation in exploring the potential of OLP in reducing stress-related psychological effects in patients. The trial was preregistered at the German Clinical Trials Register on December 20, 2017 (DRKS00013557).
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.