Dr. Gottlob from the NSF

Big thanks to Dr. Gottlob for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with Knowledge Summit

What is the general process for considering whether or not to fund research proposals?

We only have enough money to fund about 12 percent of the proposals we receive. First, we send all proposals out for external (adhoc) review by experts in the field. After we get those reviews back, we hold a review panel with about 15 experts from the US and Canada, here at NSF. Those panelists sort the proposals into A B and C categories according to external reviews and their own assessments of the proposals' merits. Their sorting serves as a recommendation to the program officer, who then makes his/her own decision on what to recommend for funding.

We consider many factors in deciding what gets funded, including the quality of the proposal, the theoretical importance of the work, the experience and capability of the investigators, and other factors such as geographic and institutional diversity, and portfolio balance.

What is the strangest proposal you have seen since you have been at the NSF?

For reasons of confidentiality, I cannot comment on proposals that were not funded. But there have been some odd ones, as well as some that are really far-reaching and innovative, but maybe just not ready for prime time.

What does a typical day look like for you- morning until bedtime?

I ride my bicycle into work by 9 in the morning, catch up on emails, meet with colleagues about proposals that they are interested in funding, have phone conferences with investigators and potential investigators, attend training sessions, attend departmental meetings and brownbag talks, and try to shoehorn in some reading on my own interests, which are in embodied cognition, attention, and (lately) Bayesian statistics. My primary work activities involve reading proposals, writing justifications for proposal declines and awards, soliciting adhoc reviewers, and running review panels for my program (Perception Action & Cognition) and other programs.

After work, I take a bicycle ride on a local canal path or trail, or go out to dinner with colleagues and other people I know in the area. Washington DC has a lot to see and do.

Will you return to the University of Kentucky after your three year assignment at the NSF?

Yes. My main challenge will be to resume my research program, and to leverage my experience at NSF into some kinds of activities that will help UK be more competitive in getting federal funding.

Has working at the NSF changed your view on science and how it is administered at the governmental level?

Yes, very much so. I have had a couple of federal grants (NIH and NSF) but knew almost nothing about things work in DC. I've also learned a lot about the political process; NSF is an independent branch of the federal government. At the science level, I have been exposed to so much new stuff in Cognitive Science and other behavioral sciences, including economics, geography, and anthropology. I've gained a real appreciation for other ways of seeing the world. Academics tend to get compartmentalized into their own subfields, so this has been great exposure. 

About Lawrence Gottlob

Dr. Lawrence Gottlob is a program director at the NSF in the area of Perception, Action & Cognition . He is an experimental psychologist who studies visual attention and cognitive aging. He has been at UK since 2001 and is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology.   His PhD is from Arizona State and he did a postdoc at Duke University.

Conscious & Unconscious Placebo / Nocebo Effects

The placebo and nocebo effect is believed to be mediated by both cognitive ( expectations) and conditioning mechanisms. Little is known about their role in different circumstances. In a study conducted by Benedetti et al. (2003), the effects of opposing verbal suggestions on experimental ischemic arm pain in healthy volunteers and on motor performance in Parkinsonian patients was analyzed. It was found that verbally induced expectations of analgesia/hyperalgesia and motor improvement/worsening antagonized completely the effects of a conditioning procedure. The researchers also measured the effects of opposing verbal suggestions on hormonal secretion and found that verbally induced expectations of increase/decrease of growth hormone (GH) and cortisol did not have any effect on the secretion of these hormones. However, if a preconditioning was performed with sumatriptan, a 5-HT1B/1D agonist that stimulates GH and inhibits cortisol secretion, a significant increase of GH and decrease of cortisol plasma concentrations were found after placebo administration, although opposite verbal suggestions were given. These findings indicate that verbally induced expectations have no effect on hormonal secretion, whereas they affect pain and motor performance. This suggests that placebo effects are mediated by conditioning when unconscious physiological functions such as hormonal secretion are involved, whereas they are mediated by expectation when conscious physiological processes such as pain and motor performance come into play, even though a conditioning procedure is performed.

At least two main findings emerge from this study. First, analgesic and motor placebo responses appear to be mediated by verbally induced expectations. Although the subjects' expectations were not directly measured, many studies shows verbal suggestions affect expectations. Opposite verbal suggestions modulated pain in contradictory directions and most important, even after a pharmacological analgesic preconditioning, a significant hyperalgesic effect occurred when suggestion of pain increase was given This indicates that the placebo effect of was caused by expectation of analgesia and not by the pharmacological preconditioning per se. This can also be seen in Parkinsonian patients, whose motor worsening appears to depend on verbally induced expectation; in fact, the opposite verbal suggestion was enough to reverse this effect. The second important finding is that verbally induced expectations of hormonal increase and decrease had no effect on hormonal plasma concentrations. However, placebo administration after sumatriptan preconditioning mimicked the effects of the sumatriptan itself. It is important to point out that these sumatriptan-like effects occurred regardless of whether verbal suggestions were given for GH increase or decrease. Thus verbal manipulations that are likely to affect expectations did not influence hormonal secretion.

“[I]n the present study, conditioning appears to play a crucial role in the placebo responses of human unconscious physiological functions, whereas expectations replace conditioning when conscious perception is involved (e.g., pain and motor performance).” Benedetti et al., 2003

The two key mechanisms underpinning placebo effects and nocebo effects are expectations, and conditioning (Pavlovian, Classical Conditioning). The mechanism explaining the placebo or nocebo effect depends on the context. In some cases conditioning and expectations may contribute to the effect, while in others one or the other may be involved. However, some have pointed out the conditioning is a form of expectation. Thus, if this is the case conditioning always involves expectation, whereas the reverse may not be true.

What are placebos?

Originally, placebos were thought of as inert pills or medications that were presented by physicians in the medical context or by researchers in clinical or experimental studies. Today, the term has a broader definition and it is used in a variety of settings. Placebos are present in our everyday lives, and sometimes have profound impacts on behaviors, and experiences (different types of placebo effects). The word Placebo is derived from a Latin phrase meaning “to please”.

“A placebo is a substance or procedure that has no inherent power to produce an effect that is sought or expected.” (Williams & Podd, 2004)

In general terms, when considering placebo, the entire ritual surrounding the administration of the substance or procedure is considered. Placebos are context specific. What might be a placebo in one condition may actually serve as a nocebo (opposite placebo, negative outcome) in another context. Also, a placebo in one context may serve as an active treatment (substance, procedure) in another context. Learning and cultural influences play a large role in determining whether a substance or procedure serve as a placebo. The study of placebos has advanced substantially over the past few years, and has provided important information in regards to neurobiology, and various other biological mechanisms. Coming Soon The Amazing World of Placebo Effects: The Neurobiology of Placebo Effects

Investigating Placebo Effects 2- Sham Knee Surgery

Mosley et al. (2002) conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of arthroscopy for osteoarthritis of the knee. Patients were assigned to receive an arthroscopic debridement, arthroscopic lavage or placebo surgery. Patients and assessors of outcome were blinded to which condition the patients were in. Outcomes were assessed at multiple points over a 24-month period. Five self-reported scores and one objective test of walking and stair climbing was used as measures. Neither of the intervention groups reported less pain or better function than the group receiving the sham surgery. In fact, at two weeks participants that received the sham surgery performed better on an objective walking and stair climbing measure than those in the debridement group. This was also found at one year and the debridement group showed a trend towards worse functioning at two years. However, it is not clear if this outcome occurred due to a placebo (via expectation) effect or natural history.

Placebo Effects- Sham Knee Surgery (video)

Coming Soon! The Amazing World of Placebo Effects

Investigating Placebo Effects

This is the first in a series of articles that will investigate
placebo and nocebo effects. Currently, there is some exciting
research being done in these areas. This series will explore
placebo and placebo - related effects in many different areas.

The individual's mind, emotions, and beliefs play a central role
in any treatment or therapy (procedure, protocol). Placebo effects
are mediated by many molecules in the brain which may affect the
course of a disease or response to treatment. Many misconceptions
exist regarding placebo effects- in the lay public and scientific
community. Probably, the most common misconception is in how
the words 'placebo effect' and 'placebo response' are defined.
Commonly the words refer to outcomes in placebo groups, without
consideration that a variety of factors are responsible for the
reduction of a symptom when taking a placebo or receiving a placebo
-related treatment. The reduction of the symptom could be due to:

Spontaneous remission
Regression to the mean
Effects of co-intervention
Biases
Real placebo response (Neurobiological& various physiological responses)

Another common misconception is that there is only one placebo effect. There is not one, but many (various mechanisms underlie placebo effects). It is more appropriate to think in terms of effects not effect.

Placebo effects have been shown in many different areas in science. Sometimes placebo effects have been shown to mimic or even exceed effects produced by active treatments (such as therapies or medications).

The content featured in this series of articles will be the same type of content featured in my new book - The Amazing World of Placebo Effects.

Sports Performance & Over-thinking

Sports Performance & Over-thinking

Sometimes athletes over-think the situation while performing. Why does over-thinking in high level athletes often lead to decreased athletic performance? Dr. Adam Lawson, Cognitive Neuroscientist, offers the following explanation.

Much of the brain can be divided into conscious controlled and automatic systems, with conscious controlled systems being focused on handling new or unusual challenges while automatic systems are best able to quickly and efficiently act on well learned acts. Practice, whether a sport or an intellectual ability, allows for the transfer of tasks from conscious controlled to automatic systems. The advantage of utilizing these automatic systems is that they are very good at repeating an action over and over again. Sometimes, our conscious and automatic systems become a hindrance, however, because two systems trying to control one body does not work very well. In the case of intellectual tasks, our conscious awareness of two competing thoughts (one automatic and one conscious controlled) can lead to the indecisiveness we call over-thinking.

Choosing a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Recently someone suggested I look at a site called Medical Malpractice Lawyers. When I first heard about the site I wasn't really interested. However, once I looked at the site I was very impressed with the information and also with the reasons given for starting the site. I highly recommend this site, especially if you are thinking about hiring a Medical Malpractice lawyer. The site is also a great source for anyone interested in learning more about different types of medical malpractice cases.

Baby Brain Damage – Brain damage in infants is mostly caused by factors like a lack of oxygen to the brain, an unhealthy placenta, being prematurely separated from the placenta, a squashed umbilical cord, and too high or too low blood pressure in the infant. Brain damage can also be worse in infants that are born premature. Because of this damage, babies that have it are prone to several disabilities, including defective eye sight and neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy. Once they reach childhood, they may experience difficulty with speech and learning and could develop other problems such as attention deficit disorder.

Nursing Home Abuse – This term refers to any physical, sexual, psychological, verbal, or financial abuse inflicted upon residents of a nursing home facility. Such abuse continues to be a growing issue in our country; however, many cases go unreported because the victims involved are too scared or ashamed to come forward. Typically, nursing home abuse is experienced by the female residents of the facility, though some males have reportedly been victims, as well. To learn more about nursing home abuse and what you can do to help prevent it, visit Nursing Home Abuse.net.

The site lists 25 different types of cases. The site also features articles:
10 Questions to Ask an Attorney Before Retaining Their Services
The owners of the site do not accept advertising or recommend specific medical malpractice attorneys. They have purposely chosen to remain anonymous in order to eliminate the potential appearance of a conflict of interest wherein they would receive additional clients through this website.