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Expectations, conditioning, and the placebo effect do not differ between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls but might be differently associated

2025-08-01Research article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorEmergui, Galia
dc.contributor.authorAgostinho, Mariana
dc.contributor.authorCanaipa, Rita
dc.contributor.authorTreister, Roi
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-02T13:14:06Z
dc.date.available2025-09-02T13:14:06Z
dc.date.issued2025-08-01
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Individuals with chronic pain such as fibromyalgia (FM) are often experiencing disappointing outcomes from clinical therapies, which theoretically should condition them to experience low placebo analgesia. However, no consistent differences in the placebo effect were found between healthy controls (HC) and chronic pain patients. This study examined the expectations, conditioning, and placebo effect in HC and FM, and the relationships between these factors in both groups. Methods: Female HC and FM patients were recruited, provided demographic and clinical information and underwent the experimental placebo paradigm. This paradigm has the advantage of measuring expectations (baseline, reinforced, and after placebo), conditioning, and placebo effect. Mixed factorial ANCOVAs, correlational analysis, stepwise and moderation regression analysis were employed. Results: Thirty-seven HC and 32 FM patients participated. Three Mixed factorial ANCOVAs showed no main effects of group or interactions for expectations (p = .692), conditioning (p = .357), or placebo effect (p = .819). Reinforced expectations predicted the conditioning strength (r = .48, p = .008) and placebo effect (r = .44, p = .014) in HC but not in FM participants. In FM, duration of pain predicted the reinforced expectations (r = −.38, p = .035) and moderated the prediction of the placebo effect by the conditioning strength (b = .04, p = .011). Conclusion: While the classical placebo theorem is supported in healthy controls, with conditioning influencing expectations, which in turn predict the placebo effect, these associations are not observed in fibromyalgia, where prior clinical experience plays a more significant role. These findings underscore the impact of previous negative clinical experiences on the placebo effect and, possibly, on responses to effective treatments.eng
dc.identifier.citationEmergui, G., Agostinho, M., Canaipa, R., & Treister, R. (2025). Expectations, conditioning, and the placebo effect do not differ between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls but might be differently associated. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 195, Article 112207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2025.112207
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jpsychores.2025.112207
dc.identifier.eid105009509250
dc.identifier.issn0022-3999
dc.identifier.other234b6b5f-e33e-42c0-8fa8-2eb8f55e7c4d
dc.identifier.pmid40614451
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/54596
dc.identifier.wos001527151600001
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectChronic pain
dc.subjectConditioning
dc.subjectLearning
dc.subjectMedical history
dc.subjectPlacebo
dc.titleExpectations, conditioning, and the placebo effect do not differ between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls but might be differently associatedeng
dc.typeresearch article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.titleJournal of Psychosomatic Research
oaire.citation.volume195
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85

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