Hypnotic alteration of somatosensory perception

Article Abstract:

Highly hypnotizable people have a strong ability to significantly alter their subjective realities, which includes the ability to reduce or eliminate pain and anxiety, and to produce hallucinations. This study looked for objective evidence of accompanying neurophysiological changes. Scalp EEG electrodes were used to study brain electrical activity associated with perception and nerve response to stimuli. The effects in the somatosensory system were examined because of the known ability of hypnosis to reduce pain. Using scores from Harvard and Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility tests, 20 people were chosen for the study; 10 were highly suggestible, while 10 scored low in hypnotizability. During the hypnotic hallucination phase of the study, the two groups received a hypnotic instruction that an anesthetic sensation was spreading throughout the stimulated arm and were told to press a button for each stimulus that was subsequently felt. The highly hypnotizable group responded to 38 percent of the stimulus compared with an 80 percent response by the low hypnotizability group. A reduction in brain wave amplitudes was recorded along with this response in the highly hypnotizable group. The subjects with low hypnotizability showed no significant task-related changes in amplitude during the study phases, suggesting a lesser ability to use an inward imagined experience to suppress somatosensory perception. Suppression of somatosensory event-related potentials also occurs with analgesic drugs. Hypnotic alteration of pain perception operates through a response which allows pain detection but causes the reduction of the painfulness of the stimulus. It was also suggested that sensory alterations are accomplished by alterations in neuronal responses to stimuli. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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A retrospective outcome study and review of hypnosis as treatment of adults with sleepwalking and sleep terror

Article Abstract:

The use of hypnosis in treating sleepwalking (SW) and sleep terror (ST) is underreported. These are serious disorders, and aggressive and frenzied behaviors have been reported in those suffering from them. Twenty-seven adult patients with SW/ST were treated with hypnosis as the principle mode of treatment following an in-depth clinical evaluation by staff trained in sleep disorders. Hypnotizability was assessed using a standard scale (the Hypnotic Induction Profile). When there was a history of the patient being in danger during spells, sedative medication was prescribed for sleep as well. The patients included 19 men and eight women with an average age of 29 years. Using a self-rated scale to measure improvement, 22 percent of the patients rated themselves as very much improved, 52 percent said they were much improved, and 26 percent said they experienced no change. No subjects reported minimal improvement and none reported their symptoms as being worse. The therapy required one to six office visits, with an average of 1.6 visits. The authors concluded that hypnosis proved to be a cost-effective treatment that was superior to medication and long-term psychotherapy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Sleep disorders, Sleepwalking

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Cognition: perception, I

Article Abstract:

Perception is the first activity in cognition. Human sensory systems generate a faithful internal picture of biologically meaningful events from the external world. These sensory systems which serve humans use subtle and complex calculations to produce efficient and informative percepts, which are frequently, though not inevitably, used for higher cognitive performance. The way human auditory perception works is discussed to provide one aspect of how human sensory systems operate in cognition.

Cognition, Auditory perception, Perception, Perception (Psychology), Human information processing, Thought and thinking, Thinking

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