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by dr_dshiv
744 days ago
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The placebo effect is not a single thing. That is, there are ways of amplifying the effect and minimizing the effect. For maximum effect, treatments ought to be designed to take advantage of the placebo effect to the extent possible. That’s because placebos have low side effects and are often very effective. However, this creates some challenges — how do you test which placebo effect works best? What do you use as a placebo? It’s not that hard, really — just use a placebo with less of a placebo effect. Niacin was used as the placebo for Timothy Leary’s Good Friday experiment [1], where he randomly dosed catholic monks on psilocybin. Unlike a sugar pill, Niacin creates some facial flushing — so you do feel something. But it would be very clear eventually that you didn’t get the psilocybin. But that doesn’t negate the findings of the experiment. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment |
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But in many other conditions, you can't, because that kind of placebo effect is just noise. For example, you can't vary the effectiveness of placebo effects in antibiotics studies (though you may be able to reduce certain side effects like headache or nausea).