Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Feb 2011
Comparative StudyGender differences in placebo analgesia: event-related potentials and emotional modulation.
To examine whether there are gender differences in event-related potential (ERP) responses to painful stimulation after administration of placebo medication; and to investigate whether placebo medication reduces anticipatory stress and if this reduction can explain the placebo analgesic response. Several experimental and clinical studies have shown that males report lower pain compared with females. There are, however, few reports of gender differences in placebo analgesia. ⋯ A placebo response on pain unpleasantness was observed in men only, and reduced stress after placebo administration was observed in males only. Thus, reduced stress may be a mechanism for placebo responses in pain.