The placebo effect is one of the most widely used and familiar terms within science and medicine, yet it is not always clear just what we mean by a placebo effect.Though we might describe a placebo effect as being 'all in the mind', we now know that there is a genuine neurobiological basis to this phenomenon. In recent years our knowledge of the neural bases of the placebo effect has developed markedly, and we now have a far better understanding of how it can influence both the course of a disease and the response to therapy. This is the first book to critically review the mechanisms of placebo and placebo-related effects across all medical conditions, diseases, and therapeutic interventions. It describes the main psychological and biological mechanisms of placebo responsiveness across the entire spectrum of medical disciplines. In addition, it looks at the clinical and ethical implications of administering placebos. Exhaustive in its coverage, and written by a world authority in the field, this is the definitive reference text to the placebo effect - one that will be essential for researchers and clinicians across a wide range of medical specialities.