Translating the Science of Placebo into Medical Practice

This webinar - held on 13 December 2023 - was produced through a collaboration of the IASP's Pain and Placebo Special Interest Group and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA - in particular - the University of Maryland School of Nursing's Placebo Beyond Opinions Center. Both groups are aligned on advancing unbiased knowledge of placebo effects by promoting interdisciplinary investigation of the placebo phenomenon and nurturing placebo research.
                                                                              
The IASP defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage" to better articulate the biopsychosocial dimensions of this phenomenon. While our understanding of pain has greatly evolved over the past decades, there are still fundamental questions that need to be addressed, including its psychological components.

To approach these questions and to highlight a recent publication from the Oxford University Press - Placebo Effects Through the Lens of Translational Research - the IASP and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, held this webinar exploring the cutting-edge research and discoveries that shed light on the enigmatic world of the placebo effect. To better understand the science of self-healing and harness its potential in medical practice, we explored the science of the placebo effect and how it influences treatment.
                                                                                
Participants included:

• Wayne Jonas, MD, Healing Works Foundation
• Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, University of Maryland School of Nursing, USA (host)