Projects about: Placebo Effects

There is increasing evidence that psychological factors, such as stress or placebo effects, influence the quality of life, disease outcomes, and effects of medical treatments in both healthy populations and somatic conditions. Our overarching goal is to understand and make optimal use of psychoneurobiological mechanisms that underlie health and chronic conditions. To this end, we combine innovative insights from different disciplines (e.g., psychology, medicine, biology, genetics, communication) in testing psychoneurobiological mechanisms of symptom perception, stress responsiveness, and adjustment to or progression of chronic disease, as well as in developing and implementing disease-generic personalized psychological or psychobiological interventions for healthy and patient populations (e.g., through e-health). Examples of several important research projects are shown below. Click here for an overview of all projects within the Health and Medical Neuropsychology unit of Leiden University.