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Updated: Feb 15, 2026
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Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
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Placebo Effects in Traumatic Brain Injury
Ginger Polich1, Mary Alexis Iaccarino1,2,3, Ted J Kaptchuk4
11 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital , Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Journal of Neurotrauma
|January 19, 2018
Summary
Pharmaceutical treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) show comparable results to placebo, suggesting TBI may be highly responsive to placebo effects. This highlights the potential of placebos as an effective treatment for TBI symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- Randomized controlled trials for traumatic brain injury (TBI) pharmaceuticals often show no significant difference compared to placebo.
- This suggests a substantial placebo effect may be at play in TBI recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying placebo effects in TBI.
- To explore if TBI is uniquely susceptible to placebo interventions.
Main Methods:
- Review of psychological factors (e.g., suggestion, cognitive reframing, therapeutic alliance).
- Examination of neurobiological correlates (e.g., cortical regulation, reward systems, neurotransmission).
- Extrapolation of existing literature to the TBI context.
Main Results:
- Identified key psychological drivers: verbal suggestion, cognitive reframing, interpersonal interactions, conditioning, therapeutic alliance, and anxiety reduction.
- Highlighted neurobiological underpinnings: top-down cortical regulation, reward system activation, and dopaminergic/serotonergic pathways.
- Proposed that TBI may possess characteristics that enhance placebo responsiveness.
Conclusions:
- Placebo effects are significant in TBI, driven by psychological and neurobiological factors.
- Placebos may represent a potent and effective therapeutic strategy for managing various post-TBI symptoms.
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