TITLE

The Fascinating Link Between Placebo and Antidepressants

DESCRIPTION

Researchers gave placebo drugs to a group of depressed patients and measured the effects of the placebo on alleviating the depression; the subjects were told that the placebo was a new antidepressant.  In the following time period following the use of the placebo, the subjects were given a real antidepressant medication.  Those who were the highest responders to the placebo (in brain scan measurements) were also the subjects who responded best to the real antidepressants. “The new paper, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, looks at the unique relationship between placebo and depression treatment …. Understanding how well a person responds to placebo could also inform a treatment plan, according to the new paper.”

SOURCE

Time Magazine, September 30, 2015, by Alexandra Sifferlin

Original Source:   Pecina, M, and others, Association Between Placebo-Activated Neural Systems and Antidepressant ResponsesNeurochemistry of Placebo Effects in Major Depression, JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(11):1087-1094. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1335.

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://time.com/4053881/antidepressant-placebo-effect/

Link to original (shortened URL):   http://tinyurl.com/ooxqk83

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•What is a placebo effect?
•How is it used in psychological studies? (discuss double blind procedures)
•What is a clinical treatment plan?
•How might the results of the study that demonstrates a relationship between placebos and antidepressants inform treatment planning?