Why do some people get the placebo effect and others not?

If your temperament allows you to deal with adversity and you are usually willing to help others without expecting something in return, these personality traits may bring you more benefits than you imagine. According to new neuroscientific research, led by the University of Michigan (USA), these qualities can also predispose to obtaining relief from a placebo, this is a "fake" drug, without any pharmacological effect , but in certain people it has curative capacity. .

It is not just a matter of the mind believing that the medicine works or not. Chemicals with analgesic properties in the brain seem to actually respond to pain differently depending on the character of each subject, according to a study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology .

The findings show that almost a quarter of the response to placebo is explained by personality traits such as the ability to bounce back from adversity, direct temperament, altruism, anger and hostility , as measured by standardized tests. Other personality traits are not associated with the response to placebo.

If these conclusions are confirmed, they could help researchers studying new drugs and other treatments, an area where placebo responses can actually skew results, preventing a clear determination of whether the actual therapy is working.