Continued Challenges with Placebo Response in CNS Trials: What Has Changed and What Have We Learned in Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia and Pain

Chairs: Steven Romano, Geert Groeneveld

The placebo response in CNS treatment trials is notoriously high and efforts to identify and exclude “placebo responders” from CNS trials have had limited impact. Suggestion of efficacy has been shown to lead to improvement of symptoms of pain and depression and can therefore seriously influence trials and can even lead to failure in the development of novel analgesics and anti-depressants. This session will focus on the impact of the placebo response on trials in the CNS field as well as discuss the neurobiological background of the placebo effect.