WASHINGTON — Just thinking a medicine will make you feel better actually may — even if it's fake, according to new research examining the placebo effect.
One region of the brain is activated by the expectation of pain relief, researchers said. This, in turn, leads to a reduction of activity in the portion of the brain that senses pain.
In a second study, researchers showed that some of the brain regions involved in feeling physical pain become activated when someone empathizes with another's pain.
Source: http://ap.thekansan.com/stories/health/20040219/1911727.shtml
[Editor: The preceding article was not written by A4M/WHN]
