The Architecture of Life: Placebo Effect - Ancient Pain Reliever

The Architecture of Life - Christopher K. Travis

Monday, November 30, 2009

Placebo Effect - Ancient Pain Reliever

For decades, scientists have tried to understand the mysterious power of what is called the "placebo effect."

A wide variety of studies have found when patients suffering from a wide variety of mental and physical disorders improve after being given placebos they believe are powerful and effective drugs.

If they truly believe - even when in reality the "drug" they are given is a mere sugar pill - they regularly report a significant reduction in symptoms.

I have suggested in the past that placebo studies prove how powerfully we are influenced - not just emotionally but physiologically - by how we percieve the world around us.

In my design practice - where I employ psychological techniques to help my clients achieve the emotional experience they desire in their homes - I have long noticed that my clients' emotional experience of their home environment is highly related to their views of reality.

Special artifacts and architectural conditions in their homes can have powerful and long-lasting psychological effects.


I have seen such conditions reduce - or stimulate - anxiety many times.
A new study published by Cell Press in the August 27th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating insight into how and why simply expecting a treatment to reduce pain can produce the actual physical effect.

The placebo effect - it seems to me - offers a clue that points to how we might create therapeutic environments.

I have suggested that the placebo effect should be harnessed as a therapy - and pointed to the fact that believers in a wide variety of ancient "faith" systems also claim similar effects - as have modern scientists who study mind/body medicine.

This new study's finding is that the "placebo effect" involves pain control pathways in the human brainstem, the part of the brain that is continuous with the spinal cord.

In other words, it impacts an ancient part of our brain which we share with many other species.

So it may turn out that "having a positive attitude" proved to be adaptive long before human beings evolved.

"Placebo analgesia" if a phrase that refers to an individual's relief from pain following administration of a chemically inert substance (often a sugar pill) and is due to a person's belief that a potent pain medication was administered instead.

It is a direct test of the power of belief to impact what have previously been seen as chemical and physiological disorders. If those conditions are as "physical" as they appear - why are disorders as extreme as schizophrenia and chronic pain impacted by the mere perception of the patient?

Endogenous opioids, which are naturally produced by the brain in small amounts and play a key role in the relief of pain and anxiety, have been implicated in placebo analgesia.

"It has been hypothesized that placebo analgesia also recruits the opioidergic descending pain control system, which inhibits pain processing in the spinal cord and, therefore, subsequently reduces pain-related responses in the brain, leading to a decreased pain experience," explains lead study author Falk Eippert from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany.

Eippert and colleagues observed that, under placebo, cortical areas interacted with brain stem structures implicated in pain control and that these interactions were dependent on endogenous opioids and were related to the strength of experienced placebo effects.

So there you have it. Another powerful example that the percieve hard boundaries we assume exist between our bodies, our minds and our environment are much "fuzzier" than we might think.

So not just your home is in your head - so is your pain - and sometimes all we have to do to powerfully impact those experiences is to actually believe we can.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo, this brilliant phrase is necessary just by the way

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Good post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you for your information.

Anonymous said...

Genial fill someone in on and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you seeking your information.

Anonymous said...

It is useful to try everything in practise anyway and I like that here it's always possible to find something new. :)

Anonymous said...

Good post and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you for your information.

Anonymous said...

I am not going to be original this time, so all I am going to say that your blog rocks, sad that I don't have suck a writing skills

Anonymous said...

Good day people, I just signed up on this superb discussion board and wanted to say hello! Have a terrific day!

Anonymous said...

Amiable dispatch and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you as your information.

Anonymous said...

Understandably your article helped me terribly much in my college assignment. Hats high to you send, intention look audacious for the duration of more interdependent articles in a jiffy as its one of my pet topic to read.

Anonymous said...

hi everybody


Just saying hello while I read through the posts


hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for my bad english. Thank you so much for your good post. Your post helped me in my college assignment, If you can provide me more details please email me.

Anonymous said...

It' s hard to come by decent info on the web.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic web site, I had not come across architecture-of-life.blogspot.com previously during my searches!
Continue the excellent work!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, that was extremely valuable and interesting...I will be back again to read more on this topic.

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone!

I truly enjoy this site, continue the great work!
Tell me what you think of my theories on hypnosis!

Anonymous said...

Cool web site, I had not noticed architecture-of-life.blogspot.com previously in my searches!
Continue the excellent work!

Anonymous said...

Wow neat! This is a really great site! I am wondering if anyone else has come across something
exactly the same in the past? Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this link, but argg it seems to be offline... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please answer to my post if you do!

I would appreciate if a staff member here at architecture-of-life.blogspot.com could repost it.

Thanks,
Harry

smplcv said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan said...

Hi, just wanted to say really interesting blog with lots of good depth. As a kitchen designer -- and psychology major -- I very much recognize and appreciate the psychological aspects of the design process. I stumbled upon mention of the truehome in the Times this weekend and signed up. Looking forward to the launch in December. Best of luck.

Anonymous said...

hello there thanks for your grat post, as usual ((o:

Anonymous said...

Hello there,

This is a question for the webmaster/admin here at architecture-of-life.blogspot.com.

Can I use part of the information from your post above if I give a backlink back to your site?

Thanks,
William

Anonymous said...

English language is not my primary language, but I could comprehend this when using the google translator. Awesome publish, keep them coming! Give thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi, i just want to say hello to the community

Anonymous said...

What remarkable topic

Anonymous said...

For the wonderful information

I'll be back soon.


Thanks again!

Have a amazing and prosperous new year ;o)


[url=http://www.duracleanaustin.com]rug cleaning austin[/url]

Anonymous said...

1

Anonymous said...

I really like your blog and i really appreciate the excellent quality content you are posting here for free for your online readers. thanks peace dale tuck

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I have a inquiry for the webmaster/admin here at architecture-of-life.blogspot.com.

Can I use part of the information from your blog post above if I provide a backlink back to this site?

Thanks,
John

Anonymous said...

Hey - I am definitely glad to find this. cool job!

Anonymous said...

Hey - I am really delighted to discover this. Good job!

3D Architectural Rendering said...

The placebo effect as therapy is an idea which should be produced relentlessly in modern medicine.

Anonymous said...

brinkka2011 says: Im often to blogging and i actually recognize your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your website and preserve checking for brand new information.

Anonymous said...

brinkka2011 says: Ive been meaning to read this and just never received a chance. Its an issue that Im really interested in, I just started reading and Im glad I did. Youre a good blogger, 1 of the best that Ive seen. This blog absolutely has some data on subject that I just wasnt aware of. Thanks for bringing this stuff to light.

Anonymous said...

Thank you amazing blog, do you have twitter, facebook or something similar where i can follow your blog

Sandro Heckler

Anonymous said...

Why didnt I consider this? I hear exactly what youre saying and Im so happy that I came across your blog. You really know what youre talking about, and you made me feel like I should learn much more about this. Thanks for this; Im officially a huge fan of your blog
84HLUL3NT3
vimax vimax
vimax vimax
Vimax Vimax
vimax vimax

Anonymous said...

I cant find a link where i can subscribe to this blog, webmaster how can i follow your blog?

Teddy Tschicke