title: Placebo effects in medicine: A bibliometric analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It was the aim of this bibliometric analysis to identify all publications dealing with so-called 'context effects/placebo effects' to bring some organisation into the publication landscape of the past 35 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic database search was carried out in Pubmed from its inception to November 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Already published articles and their participants were included.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review was carried out at an academic institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  Condition, country, year, journal, number of authors, type of publication and main focus of the publication.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There are slight differences in the focus and the origin of research. Although the subject is multidimensional and covering all areas in healthcare, only a few research disciplines cover the field of placebo effects. The research field is shrinking as evident by the smaller number of researchers publishing in this field. It is suggested that the discussion regarding placebo and context effects is getting more homogenous and is turning into a specific field by itself. There is an increasing concentration of placebo effects being reproduced in experimental settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is debatable whether the complexity of the broad range of what produces placebo effects can be successfully detected in a randomized controlled trial setting.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke 58239, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boehm
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke 58239, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: University of Witten/Herdecke, Chair of Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten 58448, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ostermann
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke 58239, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heusser
keywords: Context effects; bibliometric analysis; meaning response; non-specific effects; placebo effects; review