Search results for "Nocebo"
showing 9 items of 19 documents
When symptoms become side effects: Development of the side effect attribution scale (SEAS)
2021
Objectives\ud \ud Symptom misattribution is a central process in the nocebo effect but it is not accurately assessed in current side effect measures. We have developed a new measure, the Side Effect Attribution Scale (SEAS), which examines the degree to which people believe their symptoms are treatment side effects.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud The SEAS was tested in three New Zealand studies: a vaccination sample (n = 225), patients with gout or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 102), and patients switching to a generic medicine (n = 69). The internal reliability of the scale was examined using Cronbach's alpha. To assess validity, the Side Effect Attribution Total Score and Side Effect Attributi…
Psychological models of development of idiopathic environmental intolerances: Evidence from longitudinal population-based data.
2021
Abstract The origin of idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEIs) is an open question. According to the psychological approaches, various top-down factors play a dominant role in the development of IEIs. The general psychopathology model assumes a propensity towards mental ill-health (negative affectivity) increases the probability of developing IEIs. The attribution model emphasizes the importance of mistaken attribution of experienced somatic symptoms; thus, more symptoms should lead to more IEIs. Finally, the nocebo model highlights the role of expectations in the development of IEIs. In this case, worries about the harmful effects of environmental factors are assumed to evoke IEIs. We…
Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance: A Comprehensive Model
2017
Idiopathic environmental intolerance refers to a group of poorly understood health conditions characterized by heterogeneous somatic symptoms that occur in response to environmental triggers, but for which no physiological causes can be found. We focus on three varieties, namely symptoms attributed to (a) chemical substances, (b) electromagnetic fields, and (c) infrasound and vibroacoustic sources. As no clear link with organ pathology or dysfunction has been established so far, we review critical evidence about alternative causal mechanisms as a platform for a novel unifying model of these conditions. There is consistent evidence that expectancy and nocebo mechanisms are critically involve…
“Symptoms associated with environmental factors” (SAEF) – Towards a paradigm shift regarding “idiopathic environmental intolerance” and related pheno…
2020
Health conditions characterized by symptoms associated with chemical, physical and biological environmental factors unrelated to objectifiable pathophysiological mechanisms are often labelled by the general term “idiopathic environmental intolerances”. More specific, exposure-related terms are also used, e.g. “multiple chemical sensitivities”, “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” and “candidiasis hypersensitivity”. The prevalence of the conditions varies from a few up to more than 50%, depending on definitions and populations. Based on evolving knowledge within this field, we provide arguments for a paradigm shift from terms focusing on exposure and intolerance/(hyper-)sensitivity towards a t…
Somatic Symptom Perception From a Predictive Processing Perspective: An Empirical Test Using the Thermal Grill Illusion.
2020
OBJECTIVE In a predictive processing perspective, symptom perceptions result from an integration of preexisting information in memory with sensory input. Physical symptoms can therefore reflect the relative predominance of either sensory input or preexisting information. In this study, we used the thermal grill illusion (TGI), which applies interlaced warm and cool temperatures to the skin to create a paradoxical heat-pain experience. Assuming that the TGI compared with single-temperature stimulation relies more importantly on an active integration process of the brain to create this paradoxical sensation, we tested the hypothesis whether a manipulation of the expectations during TGI would …
The Underestimated Significance of Conditioning in Placebo Hypoalgesia and Nocebo Hyperalgesia
2018
Placebo and nocebo effects are intriguing phenomena in pain perception with important implications for clinical research and practice because they can alleviate or increase pain. According to current theoretical accounts, these effects can be shaped by verbal suggestions, social observational learning, and classical conditioning and are necessarily mediated by explicit expectation. In this review, we focus on the contribution of conditioning in the induction of placebo hypoalgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia and present accumulating evidence that conditioning independent from explicit expectation can cause these effects. Especially studies using subliminal stimulus presentation and implicit con…
Placebo and Nocebo Effects Across Symptoms: From Pain to Fatigue, Dyspnea, Nausea, and Itch
2019
Contains fulltext : 208540.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Placebo and nocebo effects are, respectively, the helpful and harmful treatment effects that do not arise from active treatment components. These effects have thus far been researched most often in pain. It is not yet clear to what extent these findings from pain can be generalized to other somatic symptoms. This review investigates placebo and nocebo effects in four other highly prevalent symptoms: dyspnea, fatigue, nausea, and itch. The role of learning mechanisms (verbal suggestions, conditioning) in placebo and nocebo effects on various outcomes (self-reported, behavioral, and physiological) of these different somatic s…
Prospective study of nocebo effects related to symptoms of idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF).
2020
The exact causes of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF, i.e., experience of somatic symptoms attributed to low-level electromagnetic fields) are still unknown. Psychological causation such as nocebo effects seem plausible. This study aimed to experimentally induce a nocebo effect for somatic symptom perception and examined whether it was reproducible after one week. We also examined whether these effects were associated with increased sympathetic activity and whether interoceptive accuracy (IAcc) moderated these relationships. Participants were recruited from the general population and instructed that electromagnetic exposure can enhance somat…
The Psychological Risks Associated With the Non-medical Switch From Biologics to Biosimilars
2021
Biological products are therapeutic agents produced using a living system or organism. In many cases, access to these products is limited due to their expensive cost (Chow et al., 2011). A biosimilar is a biological product that is highly similar (not identic) to, and has no clinically meaningful differences from, an existing reference biological product on the market (Desai et al., 2020). “Non-medical” switching is the switching of a patient's medicine for reasons other than the patient's health and safety, like the reduction of costs (Dolinar et al., 2019).