Even as scientists discover more and more examples of the placebo effect, they have been stumped by one big mystery: How does it get out of the head and into, say, the immune system?
A study published on Monday takes a step toward answering that question, at least in lab mice.
It is a giant step from mice to people, but the idea is this: in people, the brain’s reward circuitry becomes active when we anticipate, for instance, recovering from depression or banishing pain, as brain imaging has shown. That circuitry then activates neurons that wend their way from the brain to organs, including those of the immune system.
Read Full Article »