Is a placebo response all in a person's mind?

The placebo response is not something that is just in a person’s mind. It is a powerful response that has and continues to be studied extensively. I was first introduced to the placebo effect in medical school.  One of my colleagues gave me an aspirin for my headache. He asked me how long it took to work and I told him about 10 minutes. He told me that it actually  takes 30 to 60 minutes to work. I was surprised and impressed that my headache resolved with just the act of taking the aspirin.

Studies at the University of Michigan found a similar response to those who received a pain stimulus and then given a placebo and told it would help with pain.  The brain’s pain relief system was observed to activate using a special brain scan.  

Although the placebo effect may start in the brain it is followed by physiologic responses in the rest of the body.  

Absolutely not! What recent research demonstrates is that the placebo response is a complex phenomenon, initiated by the mind and leading to a cascade of real, measurable effects. In few words, the placebo response is the activation of the healing centers of our being in a way that produces profound physiological changes.

The body has two internal mechanisms to maintain health. The first is the inherent internal healing mechanism: the vital force, chi; or the primitive life support and repair mechanism that operates even in a person who is asleep, unconscious, or comatose. The second mechanism involves the power of the mind and emotions to intervene and affect the course of health and disease in a way that enhances or supersedes the body's innate vital force. The placebo response seems to involve activation of the higher control center, but this does not mean that its effects are solely in the mind.