{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T09:10:34Z","timestamp":1785575434732,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756166400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":237,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["CNS Spectr."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S1092852925100515_sec1\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate whether anxiety reductions attributed to healing crystals reflect placebo responses driven by conditioning and belief-related biases rather than specific therapeutic effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S1092852925100515_sec2\" sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In a randomized, controlled study, 138 adults were classified as believers or nonbelievers in crystal efficacy and assigned to rose quartz (experimental) or a visually matched placebo. Participants followed a standardized 14-day protocol. Anxiety was assessed pre- and post-intervention with the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Spanish Kuwait University Anxiety Scale. Multilevel\n                      <jats:italic>analyses of variance<\/jats:italic>\n                      (ANOVA) and Bayesian models were used to evaluate main effects, interactions, and evidence for treatment specificity.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S1092852925100515_sec3\" sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Anxiety reductions occurred only among believers, regardless of crystal assignment. No differences were detected between groups in primary outcomes, and improvements did not exceed the magnitudes typically associated with placebo responses. Bayesian estimates favored the null hypothesis for specific treatment effects. Preexisting belief strongly predicted perceived efficacy and symptom change, consistent with causal illusions plausibly shaped by conditioning mechanisms. Nonbelievers showed no reliable improvement.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S1092852925100515_sec4\" sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Healing crystals did not demonstrate anxiolytic effects beyond those of the placebo. Symptom change was mediated by expectancy and conditioning, particularly in individuals inclined toward intuitive or magical thinking. Although nonspecific, context-dependent factors\u2014such as elements of the therapeutic alliance\u2014may amplify placebo responsiveness in clinical settings, these findings do not support attributing inherent therapeutic value to crystals. Future work should delineate how expectations, clinician-patient rapport, and related variables interact to shape placebo response and how such mechanisms might be ethically leveraged to enhance evidence-based care without promoting pseudoscientific practices.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/s1092852925100515","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T06:48:54Z","timestamp":1756190934000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Placebo effects in alternative medical treatments for anxiety: false hope or healing potential?"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3086-4024","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c1lex","family":"Escol\u00e0-Gasc\u00f3n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/017mdc710","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Comillas Pontifical University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Neil","family":"Dagnall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02hstj355","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Manchester Metropolitan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kenneth","family":"Drinkwater","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02hstj355","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Manchester Metropolitan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdrew","family":"Denovan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04zfme737","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Liverpool John Moores University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juli\u00e1n","family":"Benito-Le\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Hospital"},{"name":"Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n Sanitaria Hospital"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED)"},{"name":"Complutense University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"S1092852925100515_r31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2095-4964(15)60190-X"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-44309-6_13"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/acp.3501"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/aphw.12583"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6882-7-17"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2019.00449"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2020.02.883"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joim.2018.02.002"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/s13423-016-1026-5"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2025.106042"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6882-5-11"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2023-077243"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/pro0000310"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7567\/APEX.11.114601"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1022081411463"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.322.7279.119"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0300501"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41380-024-02638-x"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0212615"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brat.2020.103558"},{"key":"S1092852925100515_r48","first-page":"2","article-title":"What are the odds? 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