by Sue Robbins | Oct 22, 2019 | Migraine
New research finds that the placebo effect may be socially contagious. In other words, a doctor’s beliefs about whether or not a pain treatment will work can exert a subtle influence on how much pain the patient will actually experience. Read more...
by Sue Robbins | Apr 7, 2014 | Headache Drugs
Students at Colorado College were hooked up to equipment that supposedly showed how much time they spent in rapid eye movement (REM), the “high-quality” sleep that makes you feel rested. In reality, the machine did nothing. One group of students was told...
by Sue Robbins | Jan 9, 2014 | Headache Drugs
A new study suggests that what you are told when your doctor prescribes medication for your migraine may be influenced by your body’s response to it. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston looked at the effects...
by Sue Robbins | Aug 23, 2013 | Headache Drugs
The following is an article we posted on the Robbins’ Nest Blog last August. We often hear about the “placebo effect”; it seems timely to mention again the “nocebo effect.” A placebo is typically a fake medication used as a control in a...
by Dr Robbins | Jan 31, 2013 | Headache Drugs
Findings published this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry suggest that the empathy and confidence a doctor has in his or her ability to provide patient relief may jump-start a placebo response in patients. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and...
