Power of belief

Doctors have long thought the placebo effect was psychological; now research is showing it has physical -- not just psychological -- effects on your health.

In one research, Doctor told Parkinson's patients they were getting medicine, actually a placebo, then measured the electrical activity of individual nerve cells in a movement-controlling part of the brain. Those neurons quieted down of about 40%, which correlated to the improved mobility of patients' muscle.

To further prove the power of belief, Doctor hooked pain patients to a computerized morphine injection system. Sometimes the computer administered a dose without them knowing it; sometimes a nurse pretended to give it. The morphine was up to 50% more effective when patients knew it was coming.