How Placebo Effects Work to Change Our Biology & Psychology

Andrew Huberman・2 minutes read

Placebo, nobo, and belief effects can significantly impact physiology and biology, enhancing treatments for conditions like Parkinson's, asthma, and stress by altering biological functions through expectations and beliefs. The biological basis of the placebo effect involves neural pathways, hormonal responses, and genetic influences, illustrating the complex interplay between beliefs, expectations, and physiological outcomes.

Insights

Placebo, nobo, and belief effects can significantly impact biological functions and conditions like pain, Parkinson's disease, and stress by altering physiological processes such as heart rate and neurotransmitter release.
Expectation, controlled by the prefrontal cortex, plays a pivotal role in activating or suppressing neural circuits related to Placebo, nobo, and belief effects, influencing physiological responses like heart rate and blood pressure.
The placebo effect's biological basis involves intricate neural pathways, genetic influences like the CT gene, and the complex interplay between beliefs, expectations, and physiological outcomes, showcasing its impact on various biological systems.

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Summary

00:00

Harnessing Placebo Effects for Health and Healing

The Huberman Lab podcast discusses science and science-based tools for everyday life, hosted by Andrew Huberman, a professor at Stanford School of Medicine.
Today's topic is Placebo effects, nobo effects, and belief effects, all related to the brain's ability to influence outcomes independently of physical or chemical properties.
These effects can impact conditions like pain, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and stress by altering biological functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and neurotransmitter release.
Placebo, nobo, and belief effects are not merely psychological but can change biology and physiology significantly, potentially enhancing traditional treatments.
Highly esteemed researchers suggest leveraging these effects as unique treatments for various diseases, emphasizing their powerful impact on physiology.
Placebo effects involve inert substances or treatments that unexpectedly improve symptoms or performance, contrasting with nobo effects where inert interventions worsen outcomes.
Belief effects occur when specific knowledge changes expectations, influencing physiological or psychological processes.
Expectation, controlled by the prefrontal cortex, plays a crucial role in Placebo, nobo, and belief effects by activating or suppressing neural circuits.
The prefrontal cortex communicates with brain regions controlling basic functions like heart rate and blood pressure, responding to expectations and context.
Placebo, nobo, and belief effects demonstrate how information and experiences can shape expectations, leading to physiological changes in the brain and body.

14:33

"Placebo Effects: Impact on Dopamine Levels"

The book "Placebo Effects: Understanding the Other Side of Medical Care" by Fabrio Benedetti is a key reference for the episode.
Parkinson's patients experience dopamine release changes when given a placebo, impacting movement and motivation.
Drugs like L-Dopa and bromocriptine increase dopamine levels in Parkinson's patients.
Placebo drugs, despite lacking direct dopamine-increasing properties, can still lead to dopamine release in the brain.
Expectation effects play a significant role in the placebo effect's impact on dopamine levels.
Placebo controls in clinical trials help differentiate drug effects from expectation effects.
Placebo effects are highly specific, influenced by knowledge and beliefs about a treatment.
A study on hormone function showed that knowledge about growth hormone and cortisol can impact their levels.
Subjects receiving a placebo injection experienced hormone level changes, even with saline injections.
The brain and body can form associations between injections and hormone changes, impacting placebo effects.

29:31

"Placebos, Conditioning, and Insulin: Health Impacts"

Insulin controls blood sugar levels, leading to a decrease in bloodstream glucose levels.
Smells associated with certain foods can trigger hunger due to conditioning effects.
Conditioning effects can lead to increases in insulin levels even with unrelated stimuli like bells or buzzers.
Classical conditioning, exemplified by Pavlov's experiments with dogs, can evoke physiological responses.
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Context plays a significant role in modifying the placebo effect, influencing expectations and outcomes.
Placebo effects are influenced by factors like brand names, packaging, and colors of pills.
The more invasive or complex a placebo intervention, the greater the placebo effect.
Placebos can alleviate symptoms and improve well-being but cannot reduce tumor size or eliminate cancer.
Behavioral practices, Bonafide treatments, and placebo effects have distinct impacts on health outcomes.

44:53

"Powerful Placebo Effects: Limits and Potential"

Placebo effects can be powerful but have limits, as shown in a study from Dr. Ted Captruk's Lab at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Captruk is a pioneer in studying placebo effects and their potential use in treating diseases.
A study on asthma patients revealed that a placebo treatment reduced discomfort in breathing but did not change breathing patterns.
Prescription drugs can restore normal breathing patterns, unlike placebos.
The prefrontal cortex's involvement in expectations can impact pain, dopamine, and other body systems.
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A study on nicotine-related beliefs showed that expectations influenced brain activity and cognitive performance.
People who believed they ingested high nicotine concentrations performed better on cognitive tasks, regardless of actual nicotine intake.
Brain imaging revealed increased brain activity based on participants' beliefs about nicotine concentration.
Belief effects, like placebo effects, can shape outcomes based on expectations, as shown in studies by Dr. Alia Crumb at Stanford.

01:00:12

Beliefs, Genes, and Placebo: Impact on Physiology

Hormonal response to food is influenced by communication between gut neurons and other systems, impacting evolutionary conserved mechanisms.
Studies, like the conditioned insulin response, show how beliefs can affect physiological outcomes, such as insulin increase triggered by cues like a bell or food smell.
Dr. Crum's study on belief effects in exercise revealed how mindset can impact health metrics, with positive beliefs leading to actual improvements in blood pressure, heart rate, and body weight.
The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in setting expectations and beliefs, influencing physiological responses through neural pathways to regions like the hypothalamus.
Specific neural circuitries from the prefrontal cortex to the hypothalamus control stress responses, impacting blood pressure, vasoconstriction, and body temperature.
A study in rats identified connections from the prefrontal cortex to the hypothalamus, regulating stress responses, which have analogous circuitries in the human brain.
The placebo effect's biological basis involves anatomical and hormonal pathways, with variations in its strength among individuals linked to specific genes like the CT gene.
The CT gene, encoding catacol-o-methyl transferase, correlates with placebo response variations, affecting dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels.
Genes like CT influence placebo effects by regulating neurotransmitters involved in motivation, focus, and movement, showing a strong correlation between genetic expression and placebo response levels.
Understanding the biological substrates of the placebo effect, from neural pathways to genetic influences, highlights the complex interplay between beliefs, expectations, and physiological outcomes.

01:14:58

"Placebo Effect: Biological Impact on Body Systems"

Beliefs and expectations are processed in specific brain and body cells, influencing the placebo effect on various biological systems like asthma and insulin growth hormone.
The placebo effect is not just a mental trick but a real biological phenomenon, impacting the body's functions, and supporting the podcast can be done by subscribing on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple, leaving reviews, and checking out mentioned sponsors.

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