Pain is a fundamental experience that promotes survival. In humans, pain stands at the intersection of multiple health crises: chronic pain, the opioid epidemic, and health disparities. The study of placebo analgesia highlights how social, cognitive, and affective processes can directly shape pain, and identifies potential paths for mitigating these crises. This review examines recent progress in the study of placebo analgesia through affective science. It focuses on how placebo effects are shaped by expectations, affect, and the social context surrounding treatment, and discusses neurobiological mechanisms of placebo, highlighting unanswered questions and implications for health. Collaborations between clinicians and social and affective scientists can address outstanding questions and leverage placebo to reduce pain and improve human health.

疼痛是促进生存的基本体验。对于人类来说，疼痛是多种健康危机的交叉点：慢性疼痛、阿片类药物流行和健康差异。安慰剂镇痛研究强调了社会、认知和情感过程如何直接塑造疼痛，并确定了缓解这些危机的潜在途径。本综述探讨了通过情感科学研究安慰剂镇痛的最新进展。它重点关注预期、情感和治疗周围的社会背景如何塑造安慰剂效应，并讨论安慰剂的神经生物学机制，强调未解答的问题和对健康的影响。临床医生与社会和情感科学家之间的合作可以解决悬而未决的问题，并利用安慰剂来减轻疼痛并改善人类健康。