Nocebo effect and its underlying mechanism

Abstract

Abstract: Nocebo effect exists widely not only in the clinical practice but also in society, which is the negative equivalent of placebo phenomena. Nocebo effect results from people's expectation about negative outcome, and may lead to the amplification of pain or the deterioration of a symptoms. Almost all the crucial breakthroughs of nocebo effect in recent years come from the field of pain. Researchers found that anticipatory anxiety about the impending pain increase mediates the nocebo hyperalgesia, and in this process the interaction of cholecystokinin and opioid were involved. Brain imaging study showed that nocebo hyperalgesia would activate the medial pain system with its related cerebral regions, and hippocampus may play an important role in this process. On the basis of previous research, this study presents the underlying neurophysiological mechanism of nocebo effect mainly in pain, and provide some useful suggestions for future studies in this field.

Key words: nocebo, hyperalgesia, cholecystokinin, expectation, mechanism

CLC Number:

R749
R964

DENG Xiao-fei, LUO Fei, GUO Jian-you. Nocebo effect and its underlying mechanism[J]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2015, 20(5): 591-596.

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