Placebo-responsive Parkinson patients show decreased activity in single neurons of subthalamic nucleus.
Placebo administration is known to affect the brain both in pain and in Parkinson disease. Here we show that placebo treatment caused reduced activity in single neurons in the subthalamic nucleus of placebo-responsive Parkinsonian patients. These changes in activity were tightly correlated with clinical improvement; no decrease in activity occurred when the clinical placebo response was absent.
Benedetti
Fabrizio
F
Department of Neuroscience, Clinical and Applied Physiology Program, University of Turin Medical School, Corso Raffaello 30, 10125 Turin, Italy. fabrizio.benedetti@unito.it
Colloca
Luana
L
Torre
Elena
E
Lanotte
Michele
M
Melcarne
Antonio
A
Pesare
Marina
M
Bergamasco
Bruno
B
Lopiano
Leonardo
L
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015990:Placebo Effect; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D001058:Apomorphine