Due to the recent explosion of placebo research at many levels the
Editors believe that a volume on Placebo would be a good addition to the
Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology series. In particular, this volume
will be built up on a meeting on Placebo which will be held in Tuebingen
(Germany) in January 2013, and where the most prominent researchers in
this field will present and exchange their ideas. The authors who will
be invited to write chapters for this volume will be the very same
speakers at this meeting, thus guaranteeing high standard and excellence
in the topic that will be treated. The approach of the book is mainly
pharmacological, including basic research and clinical trials, and the
contents range from different medical conditions and systems, such as
pain and the immune system, to different experimental approaches, like
in vivo receptor binding and pharmacological/behavioral conditioning.
Overall, the volume will give an idea of modern placebo research, of
timely concepts in both experimental and clinical pharmacology, as well
as of modern methods and tools in neuroscience.