Placebo Treatment Activates Brain in Parkinsons

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 27, 2014

Researchers have learned that simply the expectation of learning stimulates brain activity among individuals with Parkinsons.

For individuals with Parkinsons disease, the placebo effect activates the brain, providing a response similar to that experienced after the administration of actual medications.

Researchers say the study clearly shows the relationship between psychology and medicine.

In the study, investigators at the University of Colorado Boulder and Columbia University investigated the placebo influence to better understand the relationship between brain dopamine, expectations, and learning.

Past research has shown that while Parkinsons disease is a neurological reality, the brain systems involved may also be affected by a patients expectations about treatment.

The new study explains how the placebo treatmentwhen patients believe they have received medication when they have not works in people with Parkinsons disease. For these individuals, investigators have determined the placebo effect activates dopamine-rich areas in the brain.

The study is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The findings highlight the power of expectations to drive changes in the brain, said Dr. Tor Wager, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of Colorado Boulder and a co-author of the study.

Parkinsons patients have difficulty with reward learning, the brains ability to associate actions with rewards and make motivated decisions to pursue positive outcomes.

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Placebo Treatment Activates Brain in Parkinsons