Bilde av Bjørkedal, Espen
Bilde av Bjørkedal, Espen
Research group for cognitive neuroscience espen.bjorkedal@uit.no +4777646779 You can find me here

Espen Bjørkedal


Deputy leader of education

Job description

Espen Bjørkedal is an assistant professor and member of the research group for cognitive neuroscience. He is currently functioning as deputy leader of education. He has previously functioned as leader of the study program Bachelor of Psychology. He has been teaching in introductory courses of cognitive neuroscience, biological psychology, statistics and general psychology. He is currently course leader of the BA thesis and teaching academic writing and scientific method. He is also teaching at several other courses at the BA level and supervising thesis writing at undergraduate and graduate level. His main research interest is the placebo effect. His PhD was on the topic of active placebo. Espen has an MA in Philosophy from the University of Bergen (Norway) and a MA in Philosophy of Cognitive Science from University of Sussex (UK). He did his PhD at the Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Tromsø.


  • David RT Laursen, Camilla Hansen Nejstgaard, Espen Bjørkedal, Anders Dreyer Frost, Morten Rix Hansen, Asger S Paludan-Müller et al.:
    Impact of active placebo controls on estimated drug effects in randomised trials: a systematic review of trials with both active placebo and standard placebo
    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023 ARKIV / DOI
  • Z Turi, Espen Bjørkedal, Luisa Gunkel, Andrea Antal, Walter Paulus, Matthias Mittner :
    Evidence for Cognitive Placebo and Nocebo Effects in Healthy Individuals
    Scientific Reports 2018 ARKIV / DOI
  • Magne Flaten, Espen Bjørkedal, Peter Solvoll Lyby, Yngve Anton Figenschau, Per M Aslaksen :
    Failure to Find a Conditioned Placebo Analgesic Response.
    Frontiers in Psychology 30. July 2018 ARKIV / DOI
  • Sara Magelssen Vambheim, Peter Solvoll Lyby, Per M Aslaksen, Magne Flaten, Ole Åsli, Espen Bjørkedal et al.:
    Developing a model for measuring fear of pain in Norwegian samples: The Fear of Pain Questionnaire Norway
    Scandinavian Journal of Pain 29. December 2017 SAMMENDRAG / ARKIV / DOI
  • Per M Aslaksen, Ole Åsli, Morten Øvervoll, espen BjØrkedal :
    Nocebo hyperalgesia and the startle response
    Neuroscience 2016 ARKIV / FULLTEKST / DOI
  • Per M Aslaksen, Maria Lorentze Zwarg, Hans-Ingvald Hage Eilertsen, Marta Maria Gorecka, espen BjØrkedal :
    Opposite effects of the same drug: reversal of topical analgesia by nocebo information
    Pain 2015 FULLTEKST / DOI
  • Espen Bjørkedal, Magne Arve Flaten :
    Expectations of increased and decreased pain explain the effect of conditioned pain modulation in females
    Journal of Pain Research 2012 ARKIV / DOI
  • Magne Arve Flaten, Per M. Aslaksen, Peter Solvoll Lyby, espen BjØrkedal :
    The relation of emotions to placebo responses
    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences 2011 DOI
  • Espen Bjørkedal, Magne Arve Flaten :
    Interaction between expectancies and drug effects: an experimental investigation of placebo analgesia with caffeine as an active placebo
    Psychopharmacology 2011 ARKIV / DOI
  • Rannveig Grøm Sæle, Torstein Låg, Espen Bjørkedal, Morten Øvervoll :
    Getting closer to the student learning process in a large introductory course - How to teach academic skills to first-year students and prepare them for entering and mastering higher education?
    2021
  • Torstein Låg, Rannveig Grøm Sæle, Espen Bjørkedal, Morten Øvervoll :
    Effects of a flipped classroom intervention in a large enrolment academic skills course
  • Magne Arve Flaten, Per M Aslaksen, Jan Brox, Peter Solvoll Lyby, espen BjØrkedal :
    THE ROLE OF EXPERIMENTER GENDER IN PLACEBO ANALGESIA
    2015
  • Magne Flaten, Per M Aslaksen, espen BjØrkedal, Jan Brox, Peter Solvoll Lyby :
    The role of experimenter gender in placebo analgesia.
    2015
  • Maike Müller, espen BjØrkedal, Sandra Kamping :
    Manipulation of Expectancy and Anxiety in Placebo Research and Their Effects on Opioid-Induced Analgesia
    Journal of Neuroscience 2012 DOI
  • espen BjØrkedal, Magne Arve Flaten :
    The role of information in the effect of the DNIC procedure
    2011
  • espen BjØrkedal, Magne Arve Flaten :
    SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE MODULATION OF PAIN BY PAIN: THE ROLE OF EXPECTANCIES AND STRESS
    Psychophysiology 2011
  • espen BjØrkedal, Peter Solvoll Lyby, Magne Arve Flaten :
    INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN NOCEBO RESPONDING - FEAR OF PAIN AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY
    Psychophysiology 2010
  • Magne Arve Flaten, Per M. Aslaksen, espen BjØrkedal, Yngve Figenschau, Peter Solvoll Lyby, Ole Åsli :
    EMOTIONAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THE REDUCTION OF PAIN AFTER ADMINISTRATION OF A PLACEBO
    2010
  • espen BjØrkedal, Per M. Aslaksen, Magne Arve Flaten :
    Event-related potentials to painful stimulation after caffeine and placebo in a balanced placebo design
    2010
  • Magne Arve Flaten, espen BjØrkedal, Peter Solvoll Lyby, Yngve Figenschau, Per M. Aslaksen :
    GENDER EFFECTS IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OF PLACEBO ANALGESIA
    2010
  • espen BjØrkedal, Thomas Nermo, Per M. Aslaksen, Magne Arve Flaten :
    THE EFFECT OF AN ACTIVE PLACEBO ON PAIN-INDUCED EVENT RELATED POTENTIALS IN A BALANCED PLACEBO DESIGN
    Psychophysiology 2009
  • espen BjØrkedal, Per M. Aslaksen, Magne Arve Flaten :
    The role of diffuse noxious inhibitory control in placebo analgesia. Similar mechanisms?
    2009
  • Magne Arve Flaten, Per Matti Aslaksen, espen Bjørkedal, Peter Solvoll Lyby :
    Pain and cold sensation are decreased by the DNIC procedure
    2007
  • espen BjØrkedal, Magne Arve Flaten :
    A review of the effect of active placebo compared to placebo
    2007

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    Research interests

    Espen's research interests include:

    - The placebo effect
    - Pain
    - The philosophy of psychology/Philosophy of mind

    Lab-website: https://uit.no/research/cognitive-neuroscience