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Are Placebos The Solution? | Luana Colloca | TEDxUniversityofMarylandBaltimore

4,382 views · Published 12 December 2018 · 13:13 · Indexed 8 October 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2018 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Luana Colloca explores the role of the placebo reflex in the neurobiology of pain. It's not about the popular culture conception of placebos as pills, but rather expectations that can create an array of responses in the brain. such as the release of endogenous opioids. By triggering this response, many patients may be able to avoid opioid medicines and the risk of addiction. Luana Colloca is an associate professor in both the Department of Pain and Translation Symptom Science at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She has conducted groundbreaking studies that have advanced scientific understanding of the brain bases for pain modulation in humans, and her approaches span from mechanisms of pain reduction to translational science. Colloca’s discoveries include the role of human pharmacological conditioning in tapering medication, how observation of clinical outcomes in others shapes firsthand pain experience, and the enhancement of expectancy-induced analgesia via vasopressin activity. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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