In 2005, the first direct evidence of opioid-mediated placebo analgesia was published (Zubieta et al., 2005). In vivo receptor-binding techniques using the radiotracer carfentanil, a µ-opioid agonist, were used to show that a placebo procedure activates µ-opioid neurotransmission in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, and the nucleus accumbens (Fig. 4.7). …
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