By definition, a placebo is an inert, innocuous substance that has no effect on your body. Placebos, such as sugar pills, are therefore used as controls against which the effects of modern-day medical treatments are measured.

However, the placebo-effect, in which a patient believes he or she is getting an actual drug and subsequently feels better, despite receiving no “active” treatment at all, has become a well-recognized phenomenon.

A number of studies have revealed that placebos can work just as well as potent drugs. Sham surgery has even been shown to produce results that are equal to actual surgery!

Indeed, mounting research suggests this "power of the mind," or power of belief, can be a very healing force. Studies into the placebo effect also show that many conventional treatments "work" because of the placebo effect and little else.

The idea that "perception is everything" certainly appears to hold true when it comes to medical treatment, and this includes perceptions about quality and price. Oftentimes, the more expensive the drug is the more effective it is believed to be—even if there's no evidence to support such a belief.

Cost is simply associated with quality in general. One recent study highlights this intriguing connection between perception of quality based on cost, belief in relief, and measurable recovery.

Parkinson's Patients Improve from Belief in Expensive Drug Treatment

The randomized, double-blind study¹,² was small, comprised of only a dozen patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but the findings suggest that simply believing that you're receiving an expensive drug can produce beneficial effects, including actual biological changes.

As reported by MedicineNet.com:³

"On average, patients had bigger short-term improvements in symptoms like tremor and muscle stiffness when they were told they were getting the costlier of two drugs. In reality, both 'drugs' were nothing more than saline, given by injection.

But the study patients were told that one drug was a new medication priced at $1,500 a dose, while the other cost just $100 — though, the researchers assured them, the medications were expected to have similar effects."

Not only did patients exhibit greater improvements in movement after receiving the pricier of the two placebos, MRI scans also revealed differences in brain activity between the two placebo groups. In those who thought they were receiving a pricey new drug, the brain activity was more similar to people receiving an actual drug for Parkinson's.