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Review
. 2017 Feb 21;15(2):e2001998.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001998. eCollection 2017 Feb.

Putting placebos to the test

Affiliations
Review

Putting placebos to the test

Liza Gross. PLoS Biol. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Expectations color one’s response to medical treatment.
Henry Beecher, who treated soldiers like those in this surgery tent in Italy, was surprised to see a disconnect between the extent of a soldier’s wounds and his perception of pain. Beecher attributed their tolerance of pain to a psychological effect that counteracted sensations of pain. Image credit: US National Library of Medicine.

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