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Placebo- and nocebo-induced pain modulation: from bedside to bench and back to bedside

Placebo, nocebo et modulation de la douleur : du chevet du patient au laboratoire, et vice versa

  • Literature Review / Revue de la Littérature
  • Published:
Douleur et Analgésie

Abstract

Placebo and nocebo effects have emerged as an elegant model to explore the role of pain modulatory systems from a psychoneurobiological perspective. Gaining deeper knowledge of top-down mechanisms of pain modulation has enormous implications for personalizing and optimizing pain management. In this review, we present the most recent advances in placebo and nocebo research that have been achieved towards translational and neurobiological research. We focus primarily on preclinical aspects, psychological and genetic variables associated with proneness to respond to placebo and nocebo. Brain mechanisms of top-down regulation of pain processing, and the neurochemistry underlying these changes, are also discussed.

Résumé

Les effets placebo et nocebo sont des phénomènes qui permettent d’explorer de façon élégante le rôle des systèmes modulateurs de la douleur, à partir d’une perspective psychoneurobiologique. Acquérir des connaissances profondes des mécanismes descendants de modulation de la douleur a des implications énormes pour la personnalisation et l’optimisation de la gestion de la douleur. Dans cette revue, nous présentons les avancées les plus récentes de la recherche sur le placebo et le nocebo qui ont été accomplies dans la recherche translationnelle et neurobiologique. Nous nous concentrons principalement sur les aspects précliniques, les variables psychologiques et génétiques associées à la propension à répondre au placebo et au nocebo. Les mécanismes cérébraux de régulation descendante du traitement de la douleur et la neurochimie sous-jacente à ces changements sont également discutés.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing, 655 W Lombard Street, Floor 7th, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    L. Colloca

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  1. L. Colloca
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Colloca, L. Placebo- and nocebo-induced pain modulation: from bedside to bench and back to bedside. Douleur analg 27, 203–209 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11724-014-0401-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11724-014-0401-4

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