Contextualizing specificity: specific and non-specific effects of treatment.

Overview

Modern medicine thrives on the ideal of specific diseases, and specificity has revolutionized thinking in clinical practice (e.g., psychiatry) as well as biomedical research (e.g., neuroscience). Different notions of specificity exist (e.g., clinical, biological, and behavioral). Behavioral specificity takes on new meaning in light of recent neuroimaging and genetic findings. Drawing on the metaphor of pharmacological specificity, we provide converging data suggesting that, at least for certain individuals, specific behavioral interventions can influence focal brain activations. Interpretation of these data paves the road to a more scientific strategy for studying the neural basis of suggestion and placebo response, and holds promise for the optimal matching of patient and treatment.