New studies on pain and mental illness are blowing minds - because a lot of what works best is ... placebo? Today we are talking about the new research on placebo pills, how even imagining taking a pill helps and also how it relates the future of medicine. We even explain exactly HOW placebo pills work. Send us your voice notes at https://asapscience.com/chat For more Sidenote Podcast episodes: http://sidenotepodcast.com/ Sources and further reading: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29624-7 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2480780-how-visualisation-sets-you-up-for-success-by-changing-your-cognition/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=currents https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2008.10599502 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17408989.2021.1991297 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2024.2337019 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-64240-z