• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • WordPress
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Science Update

Science Update

Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS

  • Spotlights
  • Reality Check
  • Why Is It?
  • Radio Archives
  • Sciup @ School
Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » Placebos & Depression

Placebos & Depression

October 14, 2015
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/151014_sciup_placebo.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window

BOB HIRSHON (host):

Fake drugs offer real relief. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

Some people respond to fake medicine as if it’s real, while others get no relief at all. Now, scientists studying minor depression have found that these “placebo responders” may also benefit more from real antidepressants. University of Michigan clinical neuroscientist Marta Peciña:

MARTA PECIÑA (University of Michigan):

We tested the possibility that patients who have more natural painkillers in response to placebos, would also do better responding to antidepressant treatment.

HIRSHON:

Participants thought they were receiving a new medication that could quickly boost their mood, but it was actually a placebo. Brain scans revealed that the neurochemistry of the placebo responders differed from that of non-responders. The researchers write in the journal JAMA Psychiatry that after therapy with real antidepressants, placebo responders also reported fewer symptoms of depression. The findings could help clinicians tailor treatments to the individual. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.  

Category: Daily Show, Station DownloadTag: Brain Science, Medicine & Health, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Previous Post:New Old Neurons
Next Post:Cancer-Free Elephants

Sidebar

Radio Program Archives

Want to learn more about the brain? The environment? Here you can browse the topics that come up regularly on Science Update.

Search the Archives

Categories

  • Daily Show
  • Station Download
  • Weekly Show

Find By Tag

  • 2020
  • Acoustics & Sound
  • Aging
  • Animal Behavior
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Brain Science
  • Bugs
  • Chemistry
  • Children & Families
  • cicadas
  • Climate & Weather
  • Communications
  • Computer Science
  • Economics & Business
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Environment & Conservation
  • Genetics & Evolution
  • Geology
  • Marine Science
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine & Health
  • Microbiology
  • Nanotechnology
  • Nutrition & Food Science
  • Paleontology & Dinosaurs
  • Physics
  • Plants & Agriculture
  • Political Science
  • Reality Check
  • Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • Sports & Fitness
  • spotlight
  • Spotlight Bugs
  • Terrorism & War
  • Why Is It? Questions
  • Wildlife
  • Year in Review

Find By Date

Science Update
  • About Science Update
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Mayan Honeybee hives
House sparrow wearing top hat rides aboard a red fireworks rocket

Copyright © 2023 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos