zlacker

>>ivank+(OP)
You seem convinced your brain "slows down" after the equinox due to (the lack of) bright light, but it's probably just the placebo effect. Has anyone ever convincingly measured the effect of bright light therapy on mood and intelligence?

>>applec+ah1
Would you care to show the math on your "probably" here? Because I suspect it's not an actual mathematical estimate, but a way of puffing up your personal guess. Which is a weird thing to guess about given that this person has orders of magnitude more data about their experience than you do.

>>wpietr+0o1
Sure thing! A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials found that when disorders are amenable to placebos, the placebo effect is robust and approaches the treatment effect[1]. For psychological disorders, particularly depression, it's been shown that placebos are nearly as effective as active medications[2].

[1]: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.5...

[2]: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20129/full