Susceptibility to Nocebo Hyperalgesia, Dispositional Optimism, and Trait Anxiety as Predictors of Nocebo Hyperalgesia Reduction

OBJECTIVES: The current paper explores the psychological predictors of nocebo hyperalgesia and whether the reduction of nocebo hyperalgesia can be predicted by susceptibility to nocebo hyperalgesia and psychological characteristics. METHODS: Nocebo effects on pressure pain were first experimentally induced in 83 healthy female participants...

Nocebo Hyperalgesia in Patients With Fibromyalgia and Healthy Controls: An Experimental Investigation of Conditioning and Extinction Processes at Baseline and 1-Month Follow-up

Nocebo effects are adverse treatment outcomes that are not ascribed to active treatment components. Potentially, their magnitude might be higher in patients with chronic pain compared to healthy controls since patients likely experience treatment failure more frequently. The current study investigated group differences in the induction and...

Can contagious itch be affected by positive and negative suggestions?

Contagious itch can be evoked by observing people scratching. Verbal suggestions about to-be-received itch can influence itch intensity, as shown by placebo research, but it is unknown whether this extends to contagious itch. The current study aimed to replicate prior findings that listening to scratching and rubbing sounds elicits contagious...

Do individual psychological characteristics predict induction and generalization of nocebo and placebo effects on pain and itch?

Background: Nocebo and placebo effects, i.e., adverse or beneficial treatment effects, respectively, putatively due to expectancies can modulate pain and itch. These effects can generalize within the pain or itch modality. Predicting the induction and generalization of these effects can be helpful in clinical practice. This study aims to...

Counterconditioning as Treatment to Reduce Nocebo Effects in Persistent Physical Symptoms: Treatment Protocol and Study Design

Persistent physical symptoms have a high prevalence and a large impact for patients and society. To date, treatment effects for these symptoms are often limited. Nocebo effects (i.e., negative outcomes that are not attributable to active treatment components) have a substantial influence on treatment success and can be established via...

Associations Between Interindividual Differences, Expectations and Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Itch

Introduction: Placebo and nocebo effects are positive and negative health outcomes that can be elicited by the psychosocial context. They can be mediated by expectations, and may emerge in somatic symptoms even when people are aware of these effects. Interindividual differences (e.g., in personality, affective states) could impact placebo and...

What should clinicians tell patients about placebo and nocebo effects? Practical considerations based on expert consensus

Introduction: Clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate that placebo and nocebo effects influence various symptoms and conditions after the administration of both inert and active treatments. Objective: There is an increasing need for up-to-date recommendations on how to inform patients about placebo and nocebo effects in clinical practice...