PsycNET®

Prevention & Treatment. 2003 Jun Vol 6(1)

F. Benedetti et al (see record 2003-07872-001) have provided convincing evidence that when drug administration is concealed, drugs have little or no effect. With qualifications, they view the different effects of hidden and open drug administration as placebo effects. In the absence of a placebo, these data are interpreted here as evidence that psychosocial factors influence the response to drugs rather than an illustration of placebo effects. When drug withdrawal is concealed, prior drug treatment effects persist for some period of time. These results are viewed as placebo effects since cues associated with open drug administration were present after drug withdrawal. Labeling aside, Benedetti et al's results indicate that biopsychosocial factors influence the response to drugs and this has important implications for clinical practice and the design of pharmacologic research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

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