The Placebo Effect and the Feeling of Pain: How the Brain Reprograms Itself
Earlier, material was published on the topic that placebo works. But it's one thing when we talk about the power of drugs and the subjective “I feel this way”. And it's quite another when a person experiences pain. Can a placebo work at such high speeds?
Scientists have determined what happens in our brains when we expect pain relief but instead receive a placebo. The relief not only confirms the “placebo effect,” but also provides clues about how powerful the mind is in regulating physiological functions.
How can you control the feeling of pain?
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine in collaboration with Stanford, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences. The study focused on the neural pathway that runs from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. The results show how a person can get rid of pain without any analgesic, using pure consciousness.
Physiology of pain
What is surprising and exciting is that neurons in the cerebral cortex interact with the pons and cerebellum to regulate pain thresholds based on our expectations. This is incredible given our understanding of how pain occurs! Our findings open the possibility of activating this pathway with other therapeutics, such as drugs or neurostimulation techniques to treat pain.
Greg Scherrer of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
The researchers initially identified the areas of the brain where activity was occurring, but it was unclear what exactly was going on there. So the scientists conducted a sophisticated study in mice to zero in on the mechanisms at work.
In a study on mice, scientists found a part of the brain whose neurons and synapses became very active when the body experienced relief from pain. The reaction occurred regardless of whether any actual medication was taken at the same time.
Signal interrelation as a component of the placebo effect
To study the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which has been linked to the placebo effect in pain studies, the scientists used a number of tools:
Genetically labeled neurons.
Visualization of calcium in neurons.
Single cell RNA sequencing methods.
Electrophysiological recordings.
Optogenetics.
Based on this, the scientists found that when the mice were given a placebo, instead of relieving pain, the neurons in the ACC sent a signal to the pontine nucleus. This area had not previously been associated with pain or pain relief. And other signals, typical of our normal objective perception, were transmitted along this pathway. states of consciousness.
There are an extraordinary number of opioid receptors here, which confirms the region's role in controlling pain. When we inhibited the activity of this pathway, we found that we were disrupting placebo analgesia and lowering the pain threshold. And then, in the absence of any placebo pills, we directly activated this pathway and produced pain relief.
Greg Scherrer of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
How do the placebo effect and pain relief come together?
Ultimately, the scientists found that large, branched Purkinje cells in the cerebellum reproduced the activity seen in the initial cingulate cell region, confirming that the cerebellum plays a key role in transmitting pain messages.
The findings not only solve a puzzle for neuroscientists and shatter the idea that the placebo effect is “all in your head,” although technically it is. The researchers believe it has the potential for new approaches to pain relief, including chronic pain, which is difficult to treat effectively.
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