SMRTR Science & EngineeringJan 19, 2026Scientific American

New brain training study could help explain the placebo effect

SMRTR summary

Researchers used neurofeedback training to teach people to activate reward pathways in their brains while thinking positively, then gave them hepatitis B vaccines to measure immune response. Participants who showed higher activity in the brain's reward center produced more antibodies, suggesting positive thinking can boost immune function and potentially explaining how the placebo effect works.

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