Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35959593›Full record

ArticleOphthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)2022

Manipulating expectancies in optometry practice: Ocular accommodation and stereoacuity are sensitive to placebo and nocebo effects.

Jesús Vera, Beatriz Redondo, Elena Ocaso, Sara Martinez-Guillorme, Rubén Molina, Raimundo Jiménez

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Can Rhodiola rosea supplementation mitigate digital eye strain? A triple-blinded placebo-controlled study.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2025
    Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. The effects of lutein/ zeaxanthin (Lute-genFrontiers in nutrition · 2025
    Article
  5. Manipulating expectancies in optometry practice: Ocular accommodation and stereoacuity are sensitive to placebo and nocebo effects.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2022
    Article
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

6 authors.

Jesús VeraCLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-8091-2373
Beatriz RedondoCLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-4571-873X
Elena OcasoÓptica del Penedes Optometry Center, Zaragoza, Spain.
Sara Martinez-GuillormeGarcia Ópticos Optometry Center, Cintruenigo, Spain.
Rubén MolinaCLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Raimundo JiménezCLARO (Clinical and Laboratory Applications of Research in Optometry) Research Group, Department of Optics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThere is scientific evidence that an individual's beliefs and/or expectations play a role in the behavioural and physiological response to a given treatment. This study aimed to assess whether the dynamics of the accommodative response and stereoacuity are sensitive to experimentally induced placebo and nocebo effects.

methodsNineteen healthy university students performed three experimental sessions (placebo, nocebo and control) in randomised order, with the dynamics of the accommodative response (magnitude and variability), stereoacuity and subjective measures being assessed in all sessions. For the experimental manipulation, participants ingested an inert capsule that was alleged to have positive (white capsule, placebo condition) or negative (yellow capsule, nocebo conditions) effects on the human physiology. In the control condition, participants did not ingest a capsule.

resultsThe data revealed that the variability of accommodation was sensitive to experimentally induced placebo and nocebo effects, showing a more stable accommodative response for the placebo compared with the nocebo condition (corrected p-value = 0.04, Cohen's d = 0.60). In addition, better stereoacuity was found with the placebo, compared with the nocebo (corrected p-value = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.69) and control (corrected p-value = 0.03, Cohen's d = 0.59) conditions. Successful experimental manipulation was confirmed by the analysis of subjective perceptions.

conclusionsThese findings provide evidence that manipulating expectations about the efficacy of an inert treatment affect the dynamics of the accommodative response (variability of accommodation) and stereoacuity. The results have important applications in both clinical and research outcomes, where individuals´ beliefs/expectations could modulate the visual function.

Indexed as

Nocebo EffectOptometryAccommodation, OcularHumansVisual Acuityaccommodative responsedepth perceptionnoceboplacebovariability of accommodationvisual examination

Identifiers

PMID35959593
PMCPMC9804873

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.