Nocebo Effects and Experimental Models in Visceral Pain

Abstract

Despite its clinical relevance and the potential to extend insights into the processing and modulation of pain derived from investigations of placebo phenomena, the nocebo effect has received comparably little attention over the past decades. Research from experimental and clinical studies is only beginning to unravel the behavioral, functional, and psychoneurobiological mechanisms underlying the nocebo effect. Herein, we summarize current evidence regarding nocebo effects in the field of pain, with a particular emphasis on visceral pain. We provide an overview over behavioral and neuroimaging findings on the impact of expectations and learning and propose promising future directions to help fostering the transition of experimental research from bench to bedside.

Keywords: Conditioning; Expectations; Hyperalgesia; Hypervigilance; Irritable bowel syndrome; Neuroimaging; Nocebo; Placebo; Visceral pain.