HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rainville, P. Articles by Price, D. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rainville, P. Articles by Price, D. D.

Cerebral Mechanisms of Hypnotic Induction and Suggestion

Pierre Rainville^a, Robert K. Hofbauer^b, Tomá Paus^b, Gary H. Duncan^a, M. Catherine Bushnell^a,b and Donald D. Price^c

^aUniversité de Montréal
^b McGill University
^c University of Florida

The neural mechanisms underlying hypnotic states and responses to hypnotic suggestions remain largely unknown and, to date, have been studied only with indirect methods. Here, the effects of hypnosis and suggestions to alter pain perception were investigated in hypnotizable subjects by using positron emission tomography (PET) measures of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of brain electrical activity. The experimental conditions included a restful state (Baseline) followed by hypnotic relaxation alone (Hypnosis) and by hypnotic relaxation with suggestions for altered pain unpleasantness (Hypnosis-with-Suggestion). During each scan, the left hand was immersed in neutral (35°C) or painfully hot (47°C) water in the first two conditions and in painfully hot water in the last condition. Hypnosis was accompanied by significant increases in both occipital rCBF and delta EEG activity, which were highly correlated with each other (r = 0.70, p < 0.0001). Peak increases in rCBF were also observed in the caudal part of the right anterior cingulate sulcus and bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyri. Hypnosis-related decreases in rCBF were found in the right inferior parietal lobule, the left precuneus, and the posterior cingulate gyrus. Hypnosis-with-suggestions produced additional widespread increases in rCBF in the frontal cortices predominantly on the left side. Moreover, the medial and lateral posterior parietal cortices showed suggestion-related increases overlapping partly with regions of hypnosis-related decreases. Results support a state theory of hypnosis in which occipital increases in rCBF and delta activity reflect the alteration of consciousness associated with decreased arousal and possible facilitation of visual imagery. Frontal increases in rCBF associated with suggestions for altered perception might reflect the verbal mediation of the suggestions, working memory, and top-down processes involved in the reinterpretation of the perceptual experience. These results provide a new description of the neurobiological basis of hypnosis, demonstrating specific patterns of cerebral activation associated with the hypnotic state and with the processing of hypnotic suggestions.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. E. Helms and C. P. Barone Physiology and Treatment of Pain Crit. Care Nurse, December 1, 2008; 28(6): 38 - 49. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Peiffer, N. Costes, P. Herve, and L. Garcia-Larrea Relief of Dyspnea Involves a Characteristic Brain Activation and a Specific Quality of Sensation Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., February 15, 2008; 177(4): 440 - 449. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. E. Cavanna and M. R. Trimble The precuneus: a review of its functional anatomy and behavioural correlates Brain, March 1, 2006; 129(3): 564 - 583. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Matre, K. L. Casey, and S. Knardahl Placebo-Induced Changes in Spinal Cord Pain Processing J. Neurosci., January 11, 2006; 26(2): 559 - 563. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E. Horton, H. J. Crawford, G. Harrington, and J. H. Downs III Increased anterior corpus callosum size associated positively with hypnotizability and the ability to control pain Brain, August 1, 2004; 127(8): 1741 - 1747. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E.T. Rolls, J. O'Doherty, M.L. Kringelbach, S. Francis, R. Bowtell, and F. McGlone Representations of Pleasant and Painful Touch in the Human Orbitofrontal and Cingulate Cortices Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2003; 13(3): 308 - 317. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Rainville, R. K. Hofbauer, M. C. Bushnell, G. H. Duncan, and D. D. Price Hypnosis Modulates Activity in Brain Structures Involved in the Regulation of Consciousness J. Cogn. Neurosci., August 1, 2002; 14(6): 887 - 901. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. WATKINS, H. L. LOGAN, and H. L. KIRCHNER Anticipated and experienced pain associated with endodontic therapy J Am Dent Assoc, January 1, 2002; 133(1): 45 - 54. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Raz and T. Shapiro Hypnosis and Neuroscience: A Cross Talk Between Clinical and Cognitive Research Arch Gen Psychiatry, January 1, 2002; 59(1): 85 - 90. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. D. Critchley, R. N. Melmed, E. Featherstone, C. J. Mathias, and R. J. Dolan Brain activity during biofeedback relaxation: A functional neuroimaging investigation Brain, May 1, 2001; 124(5): 1003 - 1012. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Kosslyn, W. L. Thompson, M. F. Costantini-Ferrando, N. M. Alpert, and D. Spiegel Hypnotic Visual Illusion Alters Color Processing in the Brain Am J Psychiatry, August 1, 2000; 157(8): 1279 - 1284. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				P. Petrovic, E. Kalso, K. M. Petersson, and M. Ingvar Placebo and Opioid Analgesia-- Imaging a Shared Neuronal Network Science, March 1, 2002; 295(5560): 1737 - 1740. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]