Can Functional Brain Connectivity Predict Placebo Response in Chronic Pain?

Is Placebo Response Responsible for Many Phase III Failures?

“…Interestingly, the emerging conclusion from this study also challenges the assumption of additivity made when evaluating the magnitude of a treatment effect given that there is an interaction between placebo and active drug. Tétreault describes evidence that, in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis, placebo response propensity can be predicted from brain function. Specifically, the degree count from the right middle frontal gyrus (also identified as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) may represent one of the simplest placebo response propensity biomarkers.…”

“…Specifically, the degree count from the right middle frontal gyrus (also identified as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) may represent one of the simplest placebo response propensity biomarkers. A single value, representing the number of connections from one region with the rest of the brain, accurately predicts placebo response propensity . Ideally, these and future neuroimaging studies regarding placebo‐response biomarkers along with educational efforts will mitigate the ethical concerns associated with placebo research …”

Certainty in ascending sensory signals – The unexplored driver of analgesic placebo response

“…For example, a study which can assess priors, likelihoods, and their precision, using a computational model, can be used to more directly link biomarkers to these quantities. Research [55,56] summarizing the search for pain biomarkers in the brain notes that future studies should focus on assessing biomarker performance on an individual level, and in conjunction with tools based on pain-related behaviors that are easier to implement in a clinical setting. This future directive lends itself to non-invasive measures like the FAST.…”