Nocebo

In medicine, a nocebo (Latin for "I shall harm") is an inert substance or form of therapy that creates harmful effects in a patient. The nocebo effect is the adverse reaction experienced by a patient who receives such a therapy. Conversely, a placebo is an inert substance or form of therapy that creates a beneficial response in a patient. The phenomenon by which a placebo creates a beneficial response is called the placebo effect. In contrast to the placebo effect, the nocebo effect is relatively obscure.

Both nocebo and placebo effects are presumably psychogenic. Rather than being caused by a biologically active component of the placebo, these reactions might result from a patient's expectations and perceptions of how the substance will affect them. Though they presumably originate from psychological sources, nocebo effects can be either psychological or physiological. Statistical effects like that of the law of large numbers have also been proposed as explanation for both placebo or nocebo.

Nocebo (album)

Nocebo is the fifth album by Finnish thrash metal band Stam1na. It was released on February 8, 2012. The album name refers to a harmful reaction after taking a supposed placebo. The album was composed mainly by Antti Hyyrynen and Pekka Olkkonen along with Kai-Pekka Kangasmäki, who made his composing début on their prior album called Viimeinen Atlantis, only this time composing two songs.

The lyrics were written by Hyyrynen, apart from "Tavastia palamaan!" which was by Finnish rap-artist Mariska. This was the first time Stam1na used an outside writer.

Stam1na also included a song in English, titled "Nomad", their first non-Finnish song since their early demo tapes. Their single "Valtiaan uudet vaateet" was made into a music video, directed by Tuomas Petsalo from Medialouhos.

The album cover is a picture of the tattoo that Jari Sinkkonen, the drummer of Finnish metal band Kotiteollisuus, has on his chest - presenting Stam1na's tooth logo.[3]

Recording

Nocebo was produced, recorded and mixed by American producer Joe Barresi. The album was recorded in Petrax-studio in Hollola, Finland in September, 2011 and then mixed in Barresi's JHOC-studio in Pasadena, California.

Nocebo (film)

Nocebo is a short German thriller film. The film's run time is 38 minutes. It was written by German scriptwriter Maggie Peren, directed by Lennart Ruff and produced by Südart Filmproduktion in association with Menelaos Film. The film was shot using an Arri Alexa by cinematographer Marcello Kahl. The film is Lennart Ruffs, Severin Höhnes and Tobias M. Hubers final project at the University of Television and Film Munich, as well as Marcello Kahl's final project at the Filmacademy Ludwigsburg.

Plot

Christian Lukas (Vincent Redetzki) is on the run. He took part in a drug study and together with his girlfriend Anna (Odine Johne) discovered the death of a fellow participant. The doctors covered up the incident. When Anna starts showing the deadly side effects, Christian breaks out of the test centre to get help. Neither police nor doctors believe his story since, Christian suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Only his sister Alice (Picco von Groote) stands by him despite her also having serious doubts - until suddenly unknown pursuers show up. What is the real story behind Christian‘s escape? Does the girl in danger exist? Where is the line between psychosis and reality?