From Lab to Life: Fake Pills Have Real Effects

From Lab to Life: Fake Pills Have Real Effects

By Shlomo Maital

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      The placebo effect:  When you expect a pill to make you better, your brain can unconsciously stimulate the release of its own natural painkillers (like endorphins) and alter stress-related chemicals, even though the pill is just plain sugar. [The word placebo originates from the Latin verb placere, which translates to “to please” or “I will please”.].

But wait!  What if you are TOLD that the pill is a placebo, fake pill, what if EVEN THEN it does wonders for you?

Science Daily, June 25, reports on how “a fake pill, even one people knew was a fake, gave older adults real boosts in memory, movement, and reduced stress levels, after just three weeks!”

Here is the story.

“Researchers at Sacred Heart Catholic University (Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy) recruited 90 healthy older adults and randomly assigned them to one of three groups. One group received no treatment at all. A second group received placebo pills but was told the pills contained active ingredients designed to improve well-being and physical function. The third group received the same inactive pills but was openly informed that the pills were placebos that could still trigger beneficial mind-body responses.

“Before and after the three-week study, participants completed questionnaires (providing information on levels of perceived stress, psychological well-being, sleepiness, fatigue, optimism, self-efficacy, and stereotypes about aging). They also took objective tests measuring short-term memory, selective attention, and physical performance.

“After three weeks, the participants who knowingly took placebo pills experienced lower stress levels than both the deceptive placebo group and the control group. They also showed significant improvements in short-term memory compared with those who received no intervention.

Overall, both placebo groups experienced gains in cognitive and physical performance, although the strongest improvements were generally seen among participants who knew they were taking a placebo.  Physical performance increased by 7% in the deceptive placebo group and by 9.2% in the open-label placebo group. Cognitive performance also improved. Depending on the specific test, scores increased by between 12.6% and 14.6% among participants who believed they were taking a real supplement, while those who knowingly took a placebo improved by between 6.9% and 21.5%.”

What is the story here?  Maybe this: Talk to your brain. Motivate it.  Tell it you want it to do better at remembering, at thinking, at reasoning, and at reducing stress.  Tell it this matters to you.

Placebo? Sugar pill?  It carries a message:  This is important to others, who are doing research, and for sure, then,  it is important for me.  So brain, move it! Do it!

Tell your brain stuff.  This amazing organ will respond.  And kudos to the brilliant researchers who designed the study.  The naysayers were all ready to award it the IgNoble Prize… which may be replaced by, who knows, a Nobel?  Create your own placebo to motivate your brain!

• Diletta Barbiani, Alessandro Antonietti, Francesco Pagnini. Placebo mechanisms in aging: A randomized controlled trial comparing deceptive and open-label placebos on psychological, cognitive, and physical functioning in older adults. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 2026; 26 (1): 100673 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2026.100673