Acupuncture treatment uses ultrafine needles which are inserted into specified points on the skin (acupoints). Acupuncture can help alleviate pain and inflammation, possibly through the increased release of pituitary beta-endorphins and ACTH. Hypnosis can also help alleviate pain syndromes, and may have centrally mediated immunomodulatory effects. The use of these 2 treatments simultaneously may potentially assist and augment the effects of each another. Two case reports where both treatments are used together are presented: One showing how hypnosis can help in the treatment of painful acupoints, the other how the response to acupuncture may be augmented by hypnosis in the treatment of headache. Controlled trials of this combined treatment are warranted.

Center for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. refplus@netvision.net.il

This study assessed response times and accuracy of motor imagery in waking and hypnotic states and to related responses to hypnotic experiences. The Vividness of Motor Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ) was administered to 47 participants. A mental walking task was then performed in the waking state. In hypnosis, the same task was included within an imaginary journey after a hypnotic induction. An interaction effect showed for condition (waking vs. hypnotic) and distances. The further the participants had to walk in imagination, the longer they took. For all combinations, participants took significantly longer in hypnosis (p < .001) and were significantly less accurate in hypnosis in reproducing the difference between the different distances (p < .001). Results appear to show a relationship between motor imagery and hypnotic responding and support a state-trait conception of imagery.

Dept. of Clinical and Applied Psychology, Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, Roemer Str. 164, 53117 Bonn, Germany. brigitte.konradt@uni-bonn.de

Thirty-three adults with chronic pain and a disability were treated with hypnotic analgesia. Analyses showed significant pre- to posttreatment changes in average pain intensity that was maintained at 3-month follow-up. Significant changes were also found in pain unpleasantness and perceived control over pain but not in pain interference or depressive symptoms. Hypnotizability, concentration of treatment (e.g., daily vs. up to weekly), and initial response to treatment were not significantly associated with treatment outcome. However, treatment-outcome expectancy assessed after the first session showed a moderate association with treatment outcome. The findings support the use of hypnotic analgesia for the treatment of pain in persons with disabilities for some patients but not the use of pretreatment measures of hypnotizability or treatment-outcome expectancy for screening patients for treatment.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-6490, USA. mjensen@u.washington.edu