The Placebo Effect

The placebo effect isn't a new concept, but emerging technologies have changed the way it's studied by researchers. Primarily aimed at students of medicine and psychology, co-directors Emmanuelle Sapin and Pascal Goblot's documentary looks at the latest findings on the subject (the French-German co-production has been customized with English narration and dubbing). For context, they cite an incident that took place during World War II when U.S. Army anesthesiologist Dr. Henry K. Beecher ran out of morphine. Instead of informing his patients, he injected them with saline, and watched their pain subside simply because they believed he had given them a sedative. Placebo is Latin for "I shall please," and pain is especially sensitive to this effect. In the 1950s, studies increased as neurologists, psychoanalysts, and philosophers developed an interest in the phenomenon. For drug researchers, placebos have now long been part of their protocol (in the double-blind randomized technique, test subjects are not told whether they are receiving medication or a placebo). The film also covers a number of global experiments related to cortisol production (a natural adrenal hormone) in the Swiss Alps, nausea prevention in Germany, and dopamine production in patients with Parkinson's disease in Italy. In all cases, the subjects react as if doctors had administered a chemical compound, but they actually received placebos. The documentary cautions that the placebo effect is not a cure for disease, but that incorporating it into treatment plans can benefit both patient and doctor alike. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)