The aim of this paper is to complement the recently revised American Psychological Association definition of hypnotizability. It (a) lists a few differences in sensorimotor integration between subjects with high and low hypnotizability scores in the ordinary state of consciousness and in the absence of suggestions; (b) proposes that hypnotizability-related cerebellar peculiarities may account for them; (c) suggests that the cerebellum could also be involved in cognitive aspects of hypnotizability; (d) explains why the information derived from studies of sensorimotor and cardiovascular aspects of hypnotizability may be relevant to its definition and useful in orienting further experimental research in the field of hypnosis.
Category: Abstracts
Use of Hypnotic Techniques in Children and Adolescents With Chronic Pain: Do the Ages of Patients or Years of Practice and Theoretical Orientation of Clinicians Matter?
Hypnosis is known to be effective in the treatment of pediatric pain. To better understand which strategies might be most useful, more knowledge is needed regarding the strategies that are actually used by experienced clinicians and the factors that influence their use. To address this knowledge gap, 35 health care professionals completed an online survey on the use of hypnosis in the management of pediatric chronic pain. The findings indicate that clinicians vary their use of hypnotic strategies primarily as a function of a patient’s age but not as a function of theoretical orientation or amount of experience. The findings may be useful for guiding clinicians in their selection of strategies and suggestions when working with children with pain.
Attentional dissociation in hypnosis and neural connectivity: Preliminary evidence from bilateral electrodermal activity
According to recent findings, interhemispheric interactions and information connectivity represent crucial mechanisms used in processing information across various sensory modalities. To study these interactions, the authors measured bilateral electrodermal activity (EDA) in 33 psychiatric outpatients. The results show that during congruent Stroop stimuli in hypnosis the patients with higher hypnotizability manifest a decreased level of interhemispheric information transfer measured by pointwise transinformation (PTI) that was calculated from left and right EDA records. These results show that specific shifts of attentional focus during hypnosis are related to changes of interhemispheric interactions that may be reflected in neural connectivity calculated from the bilateral EDA measurement. This attentional shift may cause dissociated attentional control disturbing integrative functions of consciousness and contextual experiences.
From the Influence of Trauma to Therapeutic Letting Go: The Contribution of Hypnosis and EMDR
The development of new psychotherapies such as EMDR has led to numerous fresh approaches to both the treatment of trauma and to the understanding of underlying psychopathology. A unified view appears to be slowly emerging in an attempt to corroborate clinical practice with neurobiological data. This article attempts to demonstrate links between alternate psychotherapies by highlighting what appears to be an invariant among these approaches, namely “letting go.” This concept refers to a psycho-physical dynamic that combines psychological dissociation and re-association, as well as the body’s vagotonic mechanisms. Following an explanation of this process, it is demonstrated how letting go can manifest itself physiologically and why this may be significant in the study of trauma.
An Evaluation of the Effect of Hypnosis on Postoperative Analgesia Following Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
Little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of hypnosis in improving the results of surgery in Iran. One hundred and twenty patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomly divided into either control (standard care) or experimental (hypnosis) groups. Prior to surgery and again after surgery abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting were assessed. The results suggest that hypnosis could effectively reduce pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy and significantly reduce hospitalization time.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy as a Transdiagnostic Protocol for Emotional Disorders
This article describes cognitive hypnotherapy (CH), an integrative treatment that provides an evidence-based framework for synthesizing clinical practice and research. CH combines hypnotherapy with cognitive-behavior therapy in the management of emotional disorders. This blended version of clinical practice meets criteria for an assimilative model of integrative psychotherapy, which incorporates both theory and empirical findings. Issues related to (a) additive effect of hypnosis in treatment, (b) transdiagnostic consideration, and (c) unified treatment protocols in the treatment of emotional disorders are considered in light of cognitive hypnotherapy.
Role of Beliefs About Hypnotic States as a Moderator Variable: A Reexamination of the Relationship Between Reactance and Hypnotizability
The hypothesis that beliefs about hypnosis determine the amount of psychological reactance aroused was tested. Participants were administered a measure of trait reactance to therapist directives (Therapeutic Reactance Scale; TRS), the Beliefs about Hypnotic State Questionnaire (BHSQ–R), and behavioral and subjective scales concerning hypnotic response. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed significant interactions between BHSQ–R subscales and TRS. The findings suggest that the arousal of psychological reactance to hypnosis is determined by individuals’ trait reactance levels acting together with their interpretations of the hypnotic situation. The role of beliefs about hypnotic states as a moderator of the relationship between personality and hypnotizability was discussed.
Effectiveness of Self-Hypnosis on the Relief of Experimental Dental Pain: A Randomized Trial
This randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness of self-hypnosis on pain perception. Pain thresholds were measured, and a targeted, standardized pain stimulus was created by electrical stimulation of the dental pulp of an upper anterior tooth. Pain stimulus was rated by a visual analogue scale (VAS). The pain threshold under self-hypnosis was higher (57.1 ± 17.1) than without hypnotic intervention (39.5 ± 11.8) (p < .001). Pain was rated lower on the VAS with self-hypnosis (4.0 ± 3.8) than in the basal condition without self-hypnosis (7.1 ± 2.7) (p < .001). Self-hypnosis can be used in clinical practice as an adjunct to the gold standard of local anesthesia for pain management, as well as an alternative in individual cases.
Hypnosis Attenuates Executive Cost of Prospective Memory
Prospective memory is the ability to formulate and carry out actions at the appropriate time or in the appropriate context. This study aimed to identify the effect of hypnosis on prospective memory performance and to analyze the involvement of executive control processes in intention realization in a hypnotically altered state of consciousness. In 1 experiment, manipulating hypnotic instruction in a within-subject fashion, the authors explored the event-based prospective memory performance of 23 volunteers in 3 conditions: baseline, expectation, and execution. The primary result was that executing prospective memory responses, at the same accuracy rate, produced a significantly lower cost of ongoing responses in terms of response latency in the hypnotic state than in wake condition.
Hypnotic Relaxation Therapy and Sexual Function in PostmenopausalWomen: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial
Sexual dysfunction is a common problem for postmenopausal women. This study, as part of a larger randomized controlled trial, examined the effect of hypnotic relaxation therapy on sexual dysfunction, a secondary study outcome, in postmenopausal women. Sexual function was assessed using the Sexual Activity Questionnaire (SAQ). Significant improvement in sexual pleasure and discomfort were reported following 5 weekly sessions of hypnotic relaxation therapy, compared with those receiving an attention control. Total SAQ scores showed significant improvement in the hypnotic relaxation therapy treatment group while holding baseline SAQ scores constant. Improvements showed a slight increase at the Week 12 follow-up. The results of this analysis provide initial support for the use of hypnotic relaxation therapy to improve sexual function in postmenopausal women.