Prevalence and Characteristics of Posttraumatic Nightmares in War- and Conflict-Affected Students.

Introduction: Recurrent nightmares, frequently associated with traumatic experiences, may impair quality of life and daily functioning. However, there have been few studies of posttraumatic nightmares occurring among children and youth, in particular for trauma-exposed populations in conflict zones.

Methods: Using two quantitative data sets, this study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of recurrent nightmares among conflict-exposed young people in the Gaza Strip (N = 300) and examines the characteristics of posttraumatic nightmares and their association with academic functioning among treatment-seeking students in Gaza (N = 1093).

The Placebo Analgesic Effect in Healthy Individuals and Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: The present meta-analysis investigates whether the magnitude of placebo analgesia is different in patients compared with healthy individuals and whether placebo analgesia is different in experimentally induced pain compared with clinical pain in patients.

Methods: A literature search in Web of Science (ISI) on the terms "placebo analgesia" and "placebo analgesic" was conducted. The search resulted in 71 studies, including 4239 participants.

Induced fear reduces the effectiveness of a placebo intervention on pain.

Fear was induced by the anticipation of electric shock in order to investigate whether fear reduced the effectiveness of a placebo intervention on reported pain and the acoustic startle reflex. Thirty-three subjects participated in a 3 Condition (Natural History [NH], Placebo [P], Placebo+Fear [PF])×3 Test (Pretest, Posttest 1, Posttest 2) within-subject design, tested on 3 separate days. Measures of fear were fear of pain (FOP), measured by the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ-III); fear-potentiated startle; and a self-report measure that assessed the effectiveness of the fear induction procedure.