The Placebo Effect: How Strong Is The Power of Suggestion?
For years, scientists have sought to find an explanation for the placebo effect. Although many hypotheses exist, there is no one reason defining why or how the placebos work. Some researchers argue that the phenomenon doesn't even occur; that the placebo effect is merely random error and that any improvement said to be caused by a placebo is simply a spontaneous recovery in the patient's condition (2)(3). Other scientists argue that Pavlovian conditioning supports an explanation for the effect: If patients have previously shown improvement from being in a medical setting or from taking medicine, they are conditioned to experience positive effects every time they are in the same situation (1). A second explanation for the placebo effect is that any drug (or placebo) given to a patient will reduce their stress levels. Because many illnesses begin under high-stress circumstances, or exhibit more extreme symptoms under stressful situations, many of the patient's symptoms are likely to improve (2)(4).
The first question that must be answered before delving into the hypotheses behind the placebo effect is whether or not the phenomenon even exists. Certain physicians and scientists claim that "positive effects" of a placebo are, in actuality, just the body's natural ways of healing itself and the immune system's defenses kicking in soon after the placebo is taken (2). Basically, these researchers argue that improvement in a patient's condition after being administered a placebo is merely a coincidence. Negative effects that are often blamed on placebos are viewed by these researches in the same way: nausea or headaches that are claimed to be a placebo's side effects may be spontaneously occurring symptoms (3).
It has been established that colds, nausea, headaches and flus will indeed go away eventually, regardless of whether we take drugs or not. But how can studies that show that placebos have an effect on more serious and chronic illnesses, or potentially fatal conditions, such as hypertension, asthma, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia be explained?
One theory comes from Pavlov's experiment on conditioned reflexes. In this experiment, Pavlov rang a bell before giving food to a dog. After a numerous trials, no food was given after the bell rang, but the dog still salivated and expected the food. This reflex was an involuntary bodily response to an outside stimulus. Similarly, many people have experienced relief after visiting a physician or taking a medication.
Ernst, E., & Resch, K. L. (1995). Concept of true and perceived placebo effects. British Medical
Addison’s disease is a disorder of the endocrine system. It is a hormonal disorder that can strike anyone, any gender at any age. Addison’s disease has also been called Adrenal Insufficiency (hypocortisolism) because the root of the disease is in the adrenal gland not producing enough of the hormone cortisol, or sometimes not enough of the hormone aldosterone to satisfy the body’s needs.
In times of poverty and despair, they were looked upon as the "problem", which needed to be "fixed". The fear they imposed on America gave Americans something to unite over and fight against together. Sometimes, a person is most courageous when they are most fearful. They made America "roar" in the twenties and they took "the wrath" of thirties. They were some of America's most dangerous men and some of its most famous as well. In order to obtain an objective view towards the Mafia, one must know a little about its history.
There are many different uses of alternative medicine and that can be used in a variety of situations. Some people may be skeptical of alternative medicine since they are not aware of the facts and statistics. By homeopathy becoming more popular people will not be as skeptical. “Despite the successes of many alternative therapies, the phrase "alternative medicine" has not acquired a completely respectable air. To many, especially doctors trained in conventional medicine, "alternative therapies" seem unscientific and dangerous” (Badertscher). As the author shows that although alternative medicine may seem skeptical to people, there are many reasons to prove that alternative medicine is an overall better solution. Badertscher also explains the many benefits to his view of alternative medicine of seeking to work with the body 's own natural healing processes” (Badertscher). For example, a person may suffer from chronic back pain may decide to go to a chiropractor instead of using medication such as oxycodone. In this Badertscher shows the benefit that using the body’s natural healing does and that it puts the person in control of their
Now that we have a general idea of how our body regulates sugar intake we can discuss exactly what diabetes is. It is a disease in which your body is unable to use glucose for energy, resulting in elevated blood glucose levels. There are a few different types of diabetes. In some cases, a person’s body does not make insulin at all. Thus, there is no insulin to tell your cells to use the glucose for energy. This is called type 1 diabetes, or it was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Only 5 to 10% of diabetes cases are diagnosed as type 1 (Grosvenor & Smolin, 93). It is usually discovered before a pers...
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow glucose to enter the cells and produce energy. There is no cure for this disease but it can be controlled with treatment which consists of daily injections of insulin and constant glucose monitoring. For both the patient and the caregivers it usually takes a significant amount of time to learn how to manage the disease; furthermore it is important to learn to read food labels, be able to count carbohydrates correctly and dose accurately. It is crucial for insulin dosing to be accurate in order to avoid underdosing and overdosing as it can be fatal in either instance, learning to recognize the difference between high glucose and low glucose symptoms is important as well. High glucose can present itself as increased thirst, headaches, blurred vision, trouble concentrating, fatigue and frequent urination; low glucose symptoms can be excess hunger, fatigue, nausea/ vomiting, lightheadedness even fainting. Low glucose can be treated by eating small portions of food that are high in sugar but being careful not to increase your glucose levels too much, if they do increase significantly then you have to correct with insulin DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) Since their is no cure for the disease the goal is ba...
The Mafia way of life may seem like a romantic updated version of the western movie played out on the streets of the big cities where the good guys and the wise guys who share the same instincts and values do battle before an enthralled public but it is actually very different. The Mafia is really just a group of uneducated thugs making money by victimizing the public. Initially, the Mafia was setup as a prominent supplier of bootlegged liquor, but it has spread into many different areas of crime. During this research paper I will discuss three aspects of the Mafia which are crime, structure and decline in leadership.
The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that has great economic and political control over large parts of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have started during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bonds of strong-arm enforcers hired by local landowners. It eventually evolved into a network of independent groups governing in rural areas. With the Sicilian immigration of the late 19th century, the Mafia began to operate in several large United States cities. During the period of Prohibition it monopolized the trade in bootleg liquor and controlled loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Competing Mafia families established mutually recognized territories, reaching agreement by negotiation or by intimidation. By the mid-1930 the Mafia had taken on the institutionalized structure that is now typical of organized crime in the United States.
Organized crime has always been occupied with a negative label. Perhaps this is due to the constantly changing environment in America as well as the social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so-called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. "The origins of the secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century" (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafia's main purpose was to strengthen themselves against enemies, which invaded their homeland in Sicily. It was supposed to create a strong feeling of togetherness between all Sicilians. "This idea of family was carried through in the structure of the organization, which had a strong hierarchical layout" (Mafia History). The Mafia is said by many to have perhaps the best system of power, than any other group or government known today. One can compare a physical representation of the family almost to a family tree dated all the way back through many generations. Certain people operated the system, but without the help of the people with the less power, the Mafia would be very weak. To put it another way, a leader cannot lead without followers, and the followers cannot follow without leaders. This is why the Mafia was hard to overcome. Although when many think of the location of the Mafia, Chicago and New York often come to mind, but actually the Mafia has been traced back through 26 major cites in America. Within every city were many Mafia families each with it?s own government. "At the head of each family stood the Dons or Bosses. Next in line to the Dons was the Underbosses, who were second in command. Followed by the Consigliere or counselors. And last were the men who did the dirty work for the Mob, the Soldiers. The Soldiers were the one?s who would enforce discipline over both members and non-members through the use of intimidation, assaults, and murder" (Living Large 3). All the members of the society were expected to go through a ceremony that often was compared to the baptism ceremony. "The induction ceremony is the most important day of a mobster?s life, the day that they become full members of La Cosa Nostra" (Mafia Life). "The ceremony for the newcomers was som...
When Antonio was seven years old, he had a very bad flu and was hospitalized. He was able to recover without complications, but he noticed that whenever he drove by the hospital he was treated at that he would start to feel sick to his stomach.Unconditioned stimulus in Antonio's case was initially the hospital. The unconditioned response to being at the hospital was he didn't feel well. Then the Hospital became the conditioned response by making Antonio feel sick when he had to visit or drive by the hospital. It is because he associated the hospital (CS) with feeling ill. The hospital where he was treated for the sickness is the conditioned stimulus (CS), causing him to remember what occurred and inducing his stomach to hurt (CR) which is an conditioned response. This is an example of classical
Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM, or juvenile diabetes’ consequences are from the body’s failure to generate insulin. It is an autoimmune disease distinguished by failure of the insulin producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas on the way to insulin shortage. Type 1 diabetes is of the immune-mediated nature, where beta cell loss is a T-cell mediated autoimmune attack. Most people are healthy, in a healthy weight, when the sudden onset of type 1 occurs. It can occur at any age, mostly young, hence “juvenile diabetes”. It has some connection to hereditary. Various factors contribute to type 1 diabetes as well as genetics and exposure to certain viruses. Signs and symptoms come on suddenly and include increased thirst (polydipsia), frequent urination (polyuria), extreme hunger (polyphagia), weight loss, fatigue, and blurred vision. Some known risks are family history, genetics, and geography. Other possible risk factors include viral exposure, low vitamin D levels, and drinking water that has nitrates may increase the risk as well.
Ivan Pavlov developed a theory called classical conditioning which proposes that learning process occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. Classical conditioning involves placing a neutral signal before a naturally occurring reflex like associating the food with the bell in Pavlov experiment. In classical conditioning, behavior is learnt by association where a stimulus that was originally neutral can become a trigger for substance use or cravings due to repeated associations between those stimuli and substance use (Pavlov, 1927).
The strength of classical conditioning is that it can help to explain all aspects of human behavior. Any of behavior can broke down into stimulus-response association, so that according to the classical conditioning, conditioned stimulus will lead conditioned response to occur, then the scientist can observe and determine the behavior (McLeod, 2014). In the case of Pavlovian conditioning, he found that when the conditioned stimulus (bell) was paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) was presented to the dog, it would start to salivate. After a number of repeated this procedures, Pavlov tried to ring his bell by its own...
“The word ‘Mafia’ was formally recorded by the prefect of Palermo in 1865, after the unification of Italy (57 Robb).” It wasn’t until 1982 that it was added to the Italian penal code. Until the end of World War II, the Mafia was a force that the landowners and state of Sicily found useful to maintain power and property. In the nineteen seventies The Oxford English Dictionary was still listing the Mafia as
Diabetes mellitus (DM) or simply diabetes, is a chronic health condition in which the body either fails to produce the amount of insulin needed or it responds inadequately to the insulin secreted by the pancreas. The three primary types of diabetes are: Diabetes Type 1 and 2, and during some pregnancies, Gestational diabetes. The cliché for all three types of diabetes is high glucose blood levels or hyperglycemia. The pathophysiology of all types of diabetes mellitus is related to the hormone insulin, which is secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas. This hormone is responsible for maintaining an optimal glucose level in the blood. It allows the body cells to use glucose as a main energy source. Due to abnormal insulin metabolism, in a diabetic person, the body cells and tissues cannot make use of glucose from the blood, resulting in elevated blood glucose level or hyperglycemia. Over time, elevated blood glucose level in the bloodstream can lead to severe complications, such as disorders of the eyes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney damage and nerve destruction. In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is not able to produce sufficient amount of insulin as required for the body. The pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes suggests that it’s an autoimmune disease, in which the body’s own immune system generates secretions of substances that attack the beta cells of the pancreas leading to low or no insulin secretion. This is more common in children and young adults before the age of thirty. Type 1 is also referred as Insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus or Juvenile Diabetes, exogenous insulin is needed for its treatment. In type 2 diabetes mellitus we find insulin resistance with varying degrees of insulin secretory defects and is more comm...