Are placebo effects genetically determined?

We frequently write about placebo effects here at SBM because understanding placebo effects is essential to understanding a lot of clinical trial science and, most relevant to the topics of this blog, how those promoting unscientific medicine misunderstand and misuse placebo effects to promote quackery. Last week, the NYT published an article asking if placebo effects are genetically determined. The evidence supporting this hypothesis, thus far at least, is underwhelming. Are placebo effects genetically determined? David Gorski