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The Powers And Mysteries Of The Placebo Effect

Air Date:
Heard On The Morning Show
A bottle of Prozac
In this Jan. 11, 2008 file photo, a bottle of Eli Lilly & Co.’s Prozac is pictured at a company facility in Plainfield, Ind. Scientists say most antidepressants don’t work for children or teenagers with major depression and that some may even be unsafe, in the biggest analysis yet conducted of previously published studies. In a review of 14 common antidepressants, researchers found that only one seemed to be actually effective. “We now have a hierarchy of pharmaceutical treatments and the only one that is better than placebo and other drugs is Prozac,” said Dr. Andrea Cipriani of the University of Oxford, one of the study authors. Darron Cummings, AP file photo

Studies have shown that even something as subtle as a doctor’s expectations of whether a treatment will work can affect the healing process. A scientist explains how genetics influences the placebo effect, what the placebo effect can tell us about pain, and what researchers are still learning.

Episode Credits

  • Kate Archer Kent Host
  • Colleen Leahy Producer
  • Lee Rayburn Technical Director
  • Kathryn Hall Guest

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