Michael Yapko on Some Recent Research on Hypnosis and the Brain

RESEARCH

A New Study of Brain Scans During Hypnosis

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, led by neuroscientist Heidi Jiang and including senior researcher David Spiegel, MD, scanned the brains of research subjects while hypnotized in order to identify neural changes associated with hypnosis.

57 of 545 healthy subjects were involved after they were categorized as either high (n=36) or low hypnotizables (n=21) based on their responses to two different hypnotizability scales.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate activity and functional connectivity among three brain networks: the executive control network, the default mode network, and the salience network. The researchers employed guided hypnosis sessions that were structurally similar to those that a clinician might use to treat anxiety or pain.

Each subject was scanned under four different conditions: at rest (default mode), while recalling a memory, and during two different hypnosis sessions.

Three specific changes were observed in the highly hypnotizable subjects:

1. A decrease in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate, generally associated with the salience network; Dr. Spiegel suggests this is a function of the narrowed attention when in hypnosis;

2. An increase in connections between two other areas of the brain – the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula; Dr. Spiegel suggests this is a brain-body connection that helps the brain process and control physical experiences;

3. A decrease in connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network (which includes the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex). Dr. Spiegel suggests this represents the disconnect between someone’s actions and their awareness of their action – being in a so-called “flow state.”

“Seeing” which parts of the brain may become more or less active during hypnosis is certainly intriguing. It may even have practical benefits if hypnosis procedures can be refined to enhance hypnotic responsiveness in less responsive individuals who could benefit from a fuller response. Dr. Spiegel goes even further in speculating that a treatment that combines hypnosis with brain stimulation could increase hypnotic responsiveness.

A key question to contemplate: Is hypnosis a neurological phenomenon residing within the individual and measurable by an fMRI, is it an interactional, social phenomenon influenced by the context and relationship with the practitioner, or is it some combination of these factors and more? My view is the latter.

Reference: Jiang, H., White, M., Greicius, M, Waelde, L. & Spiegel, D. (July 28, 2016). Brain activity and functional connectivity associated with hypnosis. Cerebral Cortex.

doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw220.