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Placebo, Nocebo, and Learning Mechanisms

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Placebo

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 225))

Abstract

Recent substantial laboratory and theoretical research hints for different learning mechanisms regulating the formation of placebo and nocebo responses. Moreover, psychological and biological variants may play a role as modulators of learning mechanisms underlying placebo and nocebo responses. In this chapter, we present pioneering and recent human and nonhuman research that has impressively increased our knowledge of learning mechanisms in the context of placebo and nocebo effects across different physiological processes and pathological conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Clinical Center, NIH, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Conflict of Interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Building 10, Room 1C154, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1156, USA

    Luana Colloca

  2. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Building 10, Room 1C154, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1156, USA

    Luana Colloca

  3. Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 1C154, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1156, USA

    Luana Colloca

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  1. Luana Colloca
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Correspondence to Luana Colloca .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Department and National Institute of Neuroscience Labs, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy

    Fabrizio Benedetti

  2. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospitals Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Paul Enck

  3. Neuroscience Department and National Institute of Neuroscience Labs, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy

    Elisa Frisaldi

  4. Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Manfred Schedlowski

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Colloca, L. (2014). Placebo, Nocebo, and Learning Mechanisms. In: Benedetti, F., Enck, P., Frisaldi, E., Schedlowski, M. (eds) Placebo. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 225. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44519-8_2

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