No one has really addressed my question as to why any classically conditioned stimulus could not be viewed as a placebo (or nocebo). Humans are remarkable in a) the speed with which they can learn associations b) our ability to learn by observing others, and c) our ability to learn associations simply by being told that they exist. See, for example,
Behaviourally conditioned modification of T cell subset ratios in rats A.J. Husband, M.G. King, and R. Brown Abstract Levamisole injection resulted in an elevation in the T helper:T suppressor (H:S) subset ratio in rats at 24 h after injection due to a selective depression in the cytotoxic/suppressor subset. This response was shown to be conditionable and could be reenlisted 14 days later by re-exposure to the conditioned stimulus. Rats were conditioned using a taste aversion paradigm by pairing levamisole injection with the novel taste of saccharin. Fourteen days later, after a second exposure to saccharin without levamisole injection, H:S ratios were elevated in the blood of these rats compared to control rats injected with levamisole but fed normal water or rats fed saccharin without levamisole injection. And just to add another facet to the question: One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Gross' book "The Psychological Society: A Critical Analysis of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and the Psychological Revolution" in which he refers to clinical psychologists as the "institutionalized dispensers of placebos." I love to rattle my students' cages with that quote. But I then go on to demonstrate that placebo effects are real and powerful and that to be an expert in the administration of placebos is no trivial thing. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/home.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, & bluegrass fiddler...... in approximate order of importance. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=7643 or send a blank email to leave-7643-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
