[Perceptual characteristics of drugs and their potential effects]

In this narrative review the anecdotical, empirical and theoretical knowledge about expectations and effects evoked by perceptual characteristics of pharmaceuticals is summarised within the framework of the so-called non-specific effects. The most important factors (such as prestige, brand, dosage, way of administration, taste, size/shape, colour of curatives) and their impact are discussed in details, based on all available sources in literature. After the summary of the known explanations regarding the origins of expectations and effects (conditioning, social learning, culture), an integrated approach is proposed. When taking an unknown pharmaceutical, people's expectations rely on culturally and socially mediated knowledge and symbolism. These expectations can drastically change later, due to personal experiences with the effects and look-and-feel of a given drug. Possible practical applications (increasing effectivity of medicines, minimizing side effects, improving compliance, preventing confounding) are also proposed as part of a new approach called intelligent medicine designing.