Placebo Circuit
The placebo effect (and its evil twin, the hashtag#nocebo effect) has always been a fascinating topic to me, a miracle to some and a plague to the pharmaceutical industry, especially in therapeutic areas that involve the brain directly (pain, depression,..) where it has been increasing over time. Yes, the placebo effect has been going up, perhaps due in part to the belief that modern drugs are more effective.
But then, don't all therapeutic areas involve the brain one way or another? In a superb study led by a group at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers point convincingly to brain circuitry that transforms expectation of pain relief into actual pain relief. As the authors state,
"These findings open the possibility of targeting this prefrontal cortico-ponto-cerebellar pathway with drugs or neurostimulation to treat pain."
But I would also suggest that "expectation of relief" might generalize of other self-fulfilling prophecies powered by the brain. Expectation of belief? Expect a miracle and it might happen? Given the brain's subconscious control over many functions, including recently discovered brain-mediated immunity, I would say that this research opens many, many therapeutic and spiritual avenues beyond pain.