The Fallible Mind

Emotion, perception, and other tricks of the brain
by Richard E. Cytowic, M.D.

The Placebo Response: Not in Your Head but in Your Brain

By Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. on January 9, 2012 in The Fallible Mind

* A surgeon cuts the skin over your knee instead of performing arthroscopic surgery, but your knee pain still goes away.

* You swallow a dummy pill that contains nothing but starch, and yet your migraine vanishes as if you had taken an Imitrex.

* A saltwater injection eases your asthma the same amount that puffing on a bronchial inhaler does. Read More

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Dr. Richard E. Cytowic, M.D.

Richard E. Cytowic, M.D., is a neurologist best known for bringing synesthesia back to mainstream science. His latest book is Wednesday Is Indigo Blue.

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