Are you easily pleased?

One thing that is known about the placebo effect is that it involves several brain systems, each under the control of a particular type of messenger molecule, called a neurotransmitter. These systems, like everything else in the body, are regulated by genes. This has led some researchers to ask whether different versions of the genes in question might modulate a person’s susceptibility to placebos. Kathryn Hall, research fellow in medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, led the research.

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