Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter (PiPS)

The Science of Placebo – Public talks coming this June

PiPS — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:35:04 +0000

Please join us for these exciting public talks. To register, click on ‘Contact us‘ and tell us you are coming.

Brain scans suggest that doctors ‘feel’ their patients’ pain – New article in Molecular Psychiatry

PiPS — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:47:30 +0000

The experiment involved taking scans of physicians’ brains while they were delivering treatment. The findings support the idea that patient–physician interactions significantly contribute to placebo effects and clinical outcomes. Read the full article here.

Feature article in Harvard Magazine about Ted Kaptchuk and his work

PiPS — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:47:02 +0000

Based on extensive interviews with Ted Kaptchuk and a number of his colleagues and associates, this article sums up the ground-breaking work that Prof. Kaptchuk has overseen. Read the full text of the article here.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gives grant to support Placebo Studies

PiPS — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:04:39 +0000

PiPS has been awarded $250,000 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The funds will be used to create a high-impact seminar series that examines the potential of placebo studies to contribute to the transformation of health care. Over a period of approximately 18 months starting in June, 2013, a series of symposia will be held that bring together representatives from relevant disciplines including clinical specialties, neuroscience, health policy, anthropology, sociology, bioethics, and the history of medicine. The symposia will be structured to encourage an in-depth conversation that broadens the discourse about how the phenomenon known as placebo response can be utilized to enhance the provider-patient relationship, improve patient outcomes, reduce morbidity, and help control health care costs. Incentives will be offered that encourage participants to engage in collaborations. Certain events will be open to the public as well as the medical community. Register as a member to learn more about these and other events. Or call 617-945-7827 for more information.

Possible genetic explanation for the placebo effect

PiPS — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:34:15 +0000

A patient’s genetic makeup may explain the “placebo effect,” in which people perceive that a fake treatment makes them feel better, according to a study by PiPS researchers. The findings may help researchers design better clinical trials.

Read the article: “Catechol-O-Methyltransferase val158met Polymorphism Predicts Placebo Effect in Irritable Bowel Syndrome”

NPR Interview with Ted Kaptchuk and Arthur Barsky on the nocebo effect – September, 2012

PiPS — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:33:41 +0000

Radio Boston (local NPR station) interviews PiPS Director, Ted Kaptchuk, and Arthur Barsky, Director of Psychiatric Research at Brigham and Women’s Hopsital and professor at Harvard Medical School, on ethical and other questions relating to the nocebo effect.

http://radioboston.wbur.org/2012/09/12/nocebo-effect

Subconscious cues can trigger the placebo effect, say researchers

PiPS — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:22:49 +0000

PiPS researcher, Karin Jensen, was the lead investigator for the experiment that made these remarkable findings.

Read the article: “Nonconscious activation of placebo and nocebo pain responses”

Pursuing the Placebo Effect

PiPS — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:35:06 +0000

In February 2012, PiPS Director Ted Kaptchuk and PiPS Senior Faculty Arthur Barsky presented at Talks@Twelve, a quarterly lecture given to the Harvard Medical School community. We just received the a link to the video filmed by the Harvard Medical School Communications Office. To watch, click here.

Photo by Angela Alberti

“Placebo Therapy as an Ethical Alternative”

PiPS — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:17:02 +0000

In March 2012, PiPS Associate Director Irving Kirsch, presented a plenary address at the 2012 Integrative Medicine & Health Congress in Portland, OR. The talk, “Placebo Therapy as an Ethical Alternative,” outlines Dr. Kirsch’s research of the placebo effect in depression and his suggestions for how these findings might transform health care. For a video of the lecture and slides, click here.

June 14 4pm “Placebo: A History” Lecture by Ted Kaptchuk, PiPS Director

PiPS — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:33:46 +0000