Questão 4

Read the text below and answer the following question based on it.

The placebo effect is an amazing phenomenon. As we have previously reported, placebos can help with everything from losing weight to improving your vision. And, according to this study, they may even help mend a broken heart. Here, researchers recruited participants who had been dumped $\in$ the last six months, and gave them a saline nose-spray that they claimed either was “effective $\in$ reducing emotional pain” (the placebo group) or a routine part of fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) imaging (the control group). Next, the researchers conducted fMRI imaging of the subjects’ brains while showing them photos of their ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, and asking the subjects to recall their breakups. The result? Subjects $\in$ the placebo nose spray group experienced less social pain when remembering their exes compared with those $\in$ the control. Let’s just hope those participants were well compensated!
Adaptado de: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2017/05/04/c ould-a-placebo-help-heal-a-broken-heart/#.WRNtsdLyvIU Acessado em 7 de maio de 2017.

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