Placebo acupuncture as a form of ritual touch healing: a neurophenomenological model
Consciousness and Cognition March 11, 2011 C. Kerr, J. Shaw, L. Conboy et al.
Placebo acupuncture, where needles rest on the skin without penetrating, can relieve chronic pain, yet the mechanism is unclear. This qualitative study interviewed patients from a randomized trial on irritable bowel syndrome, focusing on their unprompted descriptions of enhanced touch sensations. In five of six cases, patients linked sensations such as warmth and tingling to treatment effectiveness. The authors propose a "neurophenomenological" account of the placebo effect, suggesting that attentional filtering dynamically affects early sensory cortices, potentially explaining the healing response.