Little Pink Pills: A History of Placebos

Abstract

Why is it that folk remedies have endured the test of time? This review of the placebo effect begins with definitions of placebo and placebo effect. It delves into the history of the placebo and the placebo effects, from Cro-Magnon times up through current advances in medicine. Placebos were present in Ancient Rome and Greece, the Bible, Renaissance Europe. Many difference substances were used as placebos, including boiled dung, lizard blood, mold and unicorn horn. Current studies on depression and Parkinson's disease have shown the powerful responses placebos can produce. Future research is need to unveil the mechanisms and mediators involved in the placebo effect.