Current projects
The new triennial funding period from 2014 to 2017 of the DFG research is entitled “Expectation and conditioning as basic processes of the placebo and nocebo response – Transferring mechanisms to clinical applications”. In this second funding period the research group focuses on mechanisms modulating placebo and nocebo responses in order to systematically apply them to different clinical conditions, such as post-operative pain, insomnia, breast cancer, and immunosuppression after kidney transplantation. Therefore, the different subprojects of the research group either focus on the manipulation of expectations or on conditioning. These two emphases are both applied in different physiological systems in healthy probands and in the context of clinical studies.
In addition to the different subprojects of the FOR 1328 there is a steering committee. Its members are Prof. Rief (Marburg), Prof. Enck (Tübingen), Prof. Bingel (Essen), and Prof. Schedlowski (Essen).
The following table provides an overview of the current projects of the DFG research group.
| Project | Project Leader | PhD Students |
|---|---|---|
Subproject 1 Exploiting learning mechanisms to maximize analgesic treatment outcome | Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Duisburg-Essen |
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Subproject 2 Neurobehavioral mechanisms of learned immunosuppressive placebo responses: From basics towards clinical application | Prof. Dr. Manfred Schedlowski, Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioural Immunobiology , University Medical Centre Duisburg-Essen Department of Nephrology, University Medical Center Duisburg-Essen | |
Subproject 3 The influence of variability of prior experience and pain on placebo responses | Dept. of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf | |
Subproject 4 Effects of emotional context and tactile stimulation on the placebo response in a nausea model | Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz centre Munich | |
Subproject 5 Effects of emotional context on placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia in a visceral pain model | Dept. of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, University Medical Centre Duisburg-Essen Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen | |
Subproject 6 Clinical implications and applications of placebo effects: Potential for post-operative pain management | Institute of Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology, ZI Mannheim Dept. of Psychology, Universtity of Hamburg | |
Subproject 8 Clinical applications of placebo research II: Conditioning of pharmacological responses in sleep patterns in mild to moderate insomnia | Div. of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Marburg Div. of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Marburg | |
Subproject 9 - intended in 2015 Modulation of nocebo responses by informed consent procedures in women with breast cancer
| Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg Breast Centre, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf | |
Subproject Z Central Tasks of all Subprojects of the DFG Research Unit | Div. of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Marburg |
