They reveal the secret of the placebo effect
Although the existence of the placebo effect is known, researchers at the University of California’s School of Medicine have now North Carolina (USA) have found the brain mechanism responsible for its occurrence.
The study was conducted on mice. However, the research team concludes that given the similarities, the evidence could be transferred to humans.
“Chain of Pain”
The “protagonists” of this discovery are in the brain, these are the mechanisms involved in the sensation of pain. In fact, thanks to the discovery, a “circuit” was found that connects the front part of the brain with the cerebellumthrough several bridge cores.
The human cerebellum is shown in purple in the image.
These pontine nuclei are key because they were known to be involved in pain management, but they could not regulate it. On the one hand, this fact must be added to the fact that the brain itself is capable of secreting chemicals that can act as analgesics.
However, what is really important is that These bridging nuclei have opioid receptorsand they, in turn, connect with the cerebellum.
Experiment
What test was done to demonstrate this? On the one hand, there are two rooms with different floor temperatures: one at 30 degrees, the other at 48.
The mice were placed in two different environments with two different temperatures. During the experiment, they were passed from one to the other. When they stepped on the hot ground, they showed symptoms of discomfort due to the high temperature.
An archival photograph of a mouse similar to those studied by the CBIG/EP consortium.
However, at one point during the study, the soil temperatures leveled out: both were 48 degrees. On the other hand, the environment was not affected. The mice, entering a room where the floor had previously been colder, began to behave as if the floor was still at 30 degrees.
New Frontiers
The discovery of the placebo effect illustrates a further step in the functioning of the human brain. But it also opens up new avenues for research.
According to one of those responsible for the study, Gregory Scherrer, The results “open the possibility of activating this circuit with new treatments, whether drugs or neurostimulation.”
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