How Placebo Effects Work to Change Our Biology & Psychology

In this episode, I discuss placebo and belief and mindset effects — all of which exert a powerful and real influence on our biology and psychology. I discuss how your beliefs and expectation that a certain outcome will occur after taking a substance (or any intervention cause genuine changes in brain and bodily function. I discuss how placebos can change neurotransmitter and hormone release, pain levels, whether the stress response is beneficial or detrimental and more. I also explain how placebo effects can work with traditional drug or behavioral treatments to help improve health outcomes and why some people are more susceptible to placebo effects. By the end of the episode, listeners will understand the placebo effect, how it works, and how beliefs and mindsets can be leveraged toward mental health, physical health, and performance goals.

Journal Articles

• Expectation and Dopamine Release: Mechanism of the Placebo Effect in Parkinson's Disease (Science)
• Conscious Expectation and Unconscious Conditioning in Analgesic, Motor, and Hormonal Placebo/Nocebo Responses (The Journal of Neuroscience)
• Impact of brand or generic labeling on medication effectiveness and side effects (Health Psychology)
• DEMONSTRATION TO MEDICAL STUDENTS OF PLACEBO RESPONSES AND NON-DRUG FACTORS (The Lancet)
• Effect of capsule colour and order of administration of hypnotic treatments (European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology)
• Effect of colour of drugs: systematic review of perceived effect of drugs and of their effectiveness (BMJ)
• Do medical devices have enhanced placebo effects? (Journal of Clinical Epidemiology)
• Placebo Effects in Oncology (Journal of the National Cancer Institute)
• Active Albuterol or Placebo, Sham Acupuncture, or No Intervention in Asthma (The New England Journal of Medicine)
• Nicotine-related beliefs induce dose-dependent responses in the human brain (Nature Mental Health)
• Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response (Health Psychology)
• Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect (Psychological Science)
• A central master driver of psychosocial stress responses in the rat (Science)

Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned

• Nicotine's Effects on the Brain & Body & How to Quit Smoking or Vaping
• Dr. Alia Crum: Science of Mindsets for Health & Performance‍

People Mentioned

• Ivan Pavlov: physiologist, developed the conditioned reflex concept
• Ted Kaptchuk: Harvard professor of medicine, studies placebo effects
• Alia Crum: Stanford professor of psychology, studies mindset and belief effects