Placebo Effects: Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease - Softcover

Benedetti, Fabrizio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199559120 ISBN 13: 9780199559121

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

The placebo effect is one of the most widely used and familiar terms within science and medicine, yet it is not always clear just what we mean by a placebo effect.Though we might describe a placebo effect as being 'all in the mind', we now know that there is a genuine neurobiological basis to this phenomenon.
In recent years our knowledge of the neural bases of the placebo effect has developed markedly, and we now have a far better understanding of how it can influence both the course of a disease and the response to therapy. This is the first book to critically review the mechanisms of placebo and placebo-related effects across all medical conditions, diseases, and therapeutic interventions. It describes the main psychological and biological mechanisms of placebo responsiveness across the entire spectrum of medical disciplines. In addition, it looks at the clinical and ethical implications of administering placebos. Exhaustive in its coverage, and written by a world authority in the field, this is the definitive reference text to the placebo effect - one that will be essential for researchers and clinicians across a wide range of medical specialities.

About this title

About the Author

Fabrizio Benedetti received the Medical Doctor (MD) degree in 1981 from the University of Turin Medical School. In 1984, he received a Silbert International Award from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and was a visiting professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Texas in Dallas. He has been Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Turin Medical School since 1999. He has been a member of the six-strong group on placebo of the Mind-Brain-Behavior Initiative at Harvard University, and a consultant for the Placebo Project at the US National Institute of Health. His current scientific interests are the placebo effect across diseases, pain in dementia, and intraoperative neurophysiology for mapping the human brain.

Review

"Placebo Effects is a comprehensive monograph on placebo that appears at an auspicious time...It is difficult to identify weaknesses in this comprehensive and thoughtful volume...All physicians could learn much from this volume."--New England Journal of Medicine

"...an invaluable read for anyone involved with clinical trials and treatment in any way."--Journal of the Neurological Sciences

"Benedetti's book is a lucid and extensive review entrenched in the neurosicence of placebo research and heralding the importance of this area of study...Scholars and educators stand to benefit from Benedetti's excellent tome. The increasing prominence of placebo bodes well for the future of medical care, and Benedetti's book communicates the powerful and diverse healing potential of placebos."--PsycCRITIQUES

"...Benedetti is highly analytical in his approach and, at the same time, has the ability to explain complex matters so that they are easily understood. This book should be a must for all who struggle to make sense out of the intriguing phenomena we call placebo."--Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199559120
• ISBN 13: 9780199559121
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320