Many children suffer from chronic and painful illnesses. Hypnosis was found to be effective for analgesia in adults. Is it effective for managing pain in children? ANSWER: Children can be easier to hypnotize than adults. Studies have shown clinical hypnosis and self-hypnosis to be effective as adjunct treatments for children in pain. Examples include painful medical procedures, such as bone marrow aspiration and lumbar puncture in pediatric cancer patients, postoperative pain and anxiety in children undergoing surgery, and chronic headache.

Can Fam Physician. 2007 May;53(5):823-5. Rogovik AL, Goldman RD. Pediatric Research in Emergency Therapeutics program, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ont.

This study assessed the relationship of age and hypnotic suggestibility in an effort to partially update the findings of Morgan and Hilgard (1973). A total of 2,660 undergraduates were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A; Shor & Orne, 1962) over a 7 year period. Consistent with Morgan and Hilgard's results, we found a general trend for hypnotic suggestibility scores to decrease from age 17 to 40, and then increase thereafter. We also found that female participants scored higher on the HGSHS: A compared with males across the various age ranges that we sampled.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Apr;49(4):283-7. Page RA, Green JP. Ohio State University, 4240 Campus Drive, Lima, Ohio 45804, USA. page.6@osu.edu

The placebo is much more than a control medicine in a clinical trial. The placebo response is the largest component of any allergy treatment and consists of two components: nonspecific effects (eg, natural recovery) and a "true placebo effect" that is the psychological therapeutic effect of the treatment. Belief in the beneficial nature of the treatment is a key component of the true placebo effect, and can be enhanced by factors such as interaction with the physician and the sensory impact of the treatment. Negative beliefs can generate a nocebo effect that may explain some psychogenic illnesses; this is the basis of much research in psychoneuroimmunology. An understanding of the placebo and nocebo effects is important for general allergy practice, and harnessing the power of the true placebo effect is a major challenge to modern medicine.

Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2007 May;7(2):100-4. Eccles R. Common Cold Centre, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3US, UK. eccles@cardiff.ac.uk

Sixty-one participants from the community participated in a randomised controlled trial of group debriefing to assess the effect of this intervention upon memory for a stressful event. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: debriefing; debriefing with an experimenter confederate present (who supplied three pieces of misinformation to the group regarding the stressful event); and a no-treatment control. All groups were shown a very stressful video and were again reviewed after 1 month. Members of the debriefing group where a confederate provided misinformation were more likely to recall this misinformation as fact than members of the other two groups. The debriefing group was also more accurate in their recall of peripheral content than the confederate group. Across all groups, participants were found to be more accurate at central rather than peripheral recall yet more confident for incorrect memories of the video than correct memories.

Behav Res Ther. 2007 Jun;45(6):1245-54. Devilly GJ, Varker T, Hansen K, Gist R. Brain Sciences Institute, Swinburne University, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Vic. 3122, Australia. gdevilly@swin.edu.au

Donald Altman is an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark Graduate School, where he teaches a class on "The Contemplative Dimension in Education and Counseling." He has taught mindfulness at Portland State University (Mindfulness Interventions for Healthcare Professionals). Mr. Altman obtained his Master's Degree from Lewis and Clark College and he now works as a Senior Mental Health Therapist at the Providence St. Vincent Eating Clinic. He has co-founded West Linn Counseling, where he provides private therapy. In addition, he leads mindfulness retreats at Breitenbush Hot Springs and teaches other mindfulness classes. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Center for Mindful Eating and has authored numerous publications.

In a multistage experiment, twelve 4- and 9-year-old children participated in a triad rating task. Their ratings were mapped with multidimensional scaling,from which euclidean distances were computed to operationalize semantic distance between items in target pairs. These children and age-mates then participated in an experiment that employed these target pairs in a story, which was followed by a misinformation manipulation. Analyses linked individual and developmental differences in suggestibility to children's representations of the target items. Semantic proximity was a strong predictor of differences in suggestibility: The closer a suggested distractor was to the original item's representation, the greater was the distractor's suggestive influence. The triad participants' semantic proximity subsequently served as the basis for correctly predicting memory performance in the larger group. Semantic proximity enabled a priori counterintuitive predictions of reverse age-related trends to be confirmed whenever the distance between representations of items in a target pair was greater for younger than for older children.

Psychol Sci. 2007 Jun;18(6):503-9. Ceci SJ, Papierno PB, Kulkofsky S. Department of Human Development, Cornell University, NY 14853, USA. sjc9@cornell.edu

This study involves a replication and extension of a previous one reported by Hurwitz et al (1991) on the treatment of certain parasomnias with hypnosis.

METHODS: Thirty-six patients (17 females), mean age 32.7 years (range 6-71). Four were children aged 6 to 16. All had chronic, "functionally autonomous" (self-sustaining) parasomnias. All underwent 1 or 2 hypnotherapy sessions and were then followed by questionnaire for 5 years. RESULTS: Of the 36 patients, 45.4% were symptom-free or at least much improved at the 1-month follow-up, 42.2% at the 18-month follow-up, and 40.5% at the 5-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: One or 2 sessions of hypnotherapy might be an efficient first-line therapy for patients with certain types of parasomnias.

J Clin Sleep Med. 2007 Jun 15;3(4):369-73. Hauri PJ, Silber MH, Boeve BF. Sleep Disorders Center, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. hauri.peter@mayo.edu

Dr. Susan Albers is a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Women's Health Center who specializes in relationship and weight issues. She is a College of Wooster graduate and obtained her masters and doctorate degree from the University of Denver. Susan completed her APA internship at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and her post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University in California.

Dr. Susan has researched and worked with a number of individuals struggling with eating disorders, body image and self esteem issues. She has a special interest in college students with mild, moderate and severe eating disorders. In addition to eating issues, she has experience treating mood problems, relationship issues and sexual concerns. Dr. Albers has been part of several multidisciplinary eating disorder treatment teams. Also, she is a member of the Academy of Eating Disorders and the American Psychological Association.

On a personal note, she enjoys spending time jogging/walking (she is a New York Marathon, Bolder Boulder 10K & the San Francisco half marathon finisher), traveling/exploring other cultures.

For more information visit www.EatingMindfully.com

While hypnosis-like phenomena have a documented history going back thousands of years, accounts of placebo effects span several centuries. With the rise of biological psychiatry and the "pharmacological revolution," drug trials have taken a central place in clinical research. These clinical trials increasingly incorporate placebo-controlled conditions as part of their paradigms and may even involve an element of deception. In contrast, the therapeutic effects of hypnosis do not require deception. As researchers begin to identify genetic and neural correlates of hypnotizability, these findings may further elucidate placebo phenomena. Whereas identifying highly hypnotizable individuals may be of limited interest, identifying good placebo responders may revolutionize both basic research and clinical science, offer insights into transcultural psychiatry and elucidate individual differences.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Jul;50(1):29-36. Hypnobo: perspectives on hypnosis and placebo.Raz A. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

The present research explored the effect of selective remembering and the resulting "silences" on memory. In particular, we examined whether unmentioned information is more likely to be forgotten by a listener if related information is recollected by the speaker than if related information is not recollected by the speaker. In a modification of the retrieval-induced forgetting paradigm, pairs of individuals studied material, but in the practice phase, only one member of each pair selectively recalled it, while the other listened. Experiment 1 employed paired associates, and Experiment 2 used stories. Experiment 3 involved not controlled practice, but free-flowing conversation. In each case, results from a final memory test established not only within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting, but also socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. The results demonstrate that listening to a speaker remember selectively can induce forgetting of related information in the listener.

Psychol Sci. 2007 Aug;18(8):727-33. Cuc A, Koppel J, Hirst W. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale-Davie, FL 33314, USA. calex@nova.edu

Daniel J Siegel, M.D. received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. He served as a National Institute of Mental Health Research Fellow at UCLA, studying family interactions with an emphasis on how attachment experiences influence emotions, behavior, autobiographical memory and narrative.

For more information visit DrDanSiegel.com

Research in semantic word list-learning paradigms suggests that presentation modality during encoding may influence word recognition at test. Given these findings, it is argued that some previous misinformation effect research might contain methodologies which are problematic. Misleading information groups typically receive erroneous information in written narratives, which may be further impeded by written tests. Results may therefore be explained by misinformation or encoding specificity. In two experiments, participants received restated, neutral, and misleading post-event information through auditory or written modalities. Participants' recognition and recall of critical details about the source event were tested. In a recognition test using the standard testing procedure, there were no condition differences for post-event information presented via an auditory modality. However, for post-event information presented in the text modality, recognition performance was more accurate for restated information relative to neutral information, which in-turn was better than the misled condition. Using the modified testing procedure, the differences were again limited to the text condition. Better performance was evident in the restated condition relative to the average of the neutral and the misled conditions, and there was no difference in performance between the neutral and the misled conditions. Using a recall test, however, there was no effect of modality. Memory was significantly better for restated information than for the average of the neutral and the misled conditions and poorer in the misled condition relative to the neutral condition. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of contextual cues at test, and methodological and interpretational limitations associated with previous research.

Br J Psychol. 2007 Aug;98(Pt 3):485-98. Campbell JM, Edwards MS, Horswill MS, Helman S. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia. justinec@psy.uq.edu.au

Mindfulness meditation (MfM) is a mind-body therapy identified by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Initially taught in a formal classroom setting, MfM is a sustainable intervention with minimal costs that can be used over time. For veterans, after mastery, this technique shows promise in improving health outcomes and quality of life. This article describes MfM, discusses the conceptual framework and evidence-based research for MfM, and identifies the implications of MfM use by health care providers who are caring for war veterans.

AAOHN J. 2008 Aug;56(8):357-63. Cuellar NG. School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

This is an evidence-based review of the efficacy of hypnosis in pain management. Hypnosis is as old as mankind. It is reported in the Ebers Papyrus in ancient Egyptian cures. It went into decline in the Middle Ages with the rise of Christianity, being erroneously associated with witchcraft. There was resurgence of interest in the 19th century. In the early 1950s, the British Medical Association endorsed the teaching of hypnosis in all medical schools. The literature is replete with anecdotal and controlled studies of the efficacy of hypnotherapy in pain management. Not much is found of the effectiveness in acute pain conditions. Nevertheless, in spite of some methodological flaws in many reports, there seems to be sufficient clinical evidence of sufficient quality, to conclude that hypnosis has demonstrable efficacy in the treatment of chronic pain.

Niger Postgrad Med J. 2007 Sep;14(3):238-41. Amadasun FE. Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria.

We examined whether false images and memories for childhood events are more likely when the event supposedly took place during the period of childhood amnesia. Over three interviews, participants recalled six events: five true and one false. Some participants were told that the false event happened when they were 2 years old (Age 2 group), while others were told that it happened when they were 10 years old (Age 10 group). We compared participants' reports of the false event to their reports of a true event from the same age. Consistent with prior research on childhood amnesia, participants in the Age 10 group were more likely than participants in the Age 2 group to remember their true event and they reported more information about it. Participants in the Age 2 group, on the other hand, were more likely to develop false images and memories than participants in the Age 10 group. Furthermore, once a false image or memory developed, there were no age-related differences in the amount of information participants reported about the false event. We conclude that childhood amnesia increases our susceptibility to false suggestion, thus our results have implications for court cases where early memories are at issue.

Memory. 2008;16(5):475-84. Strange D, Wade K, Hayne H. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. deryn@psy.otago.ac.nz

Comments on the article by J. Owen-Kostelnik, N. D. Reppucci, and J. R. Meyer which reviewed the issues surrounding the police interrogation of minors. This commentary expands on the review by addressing the mental health status of youths who come into contact with police. It stems from two immutable facts: (a) The prevalence of mental illness among justice-involved youths is alarmingly high, and (b) mental illness by itself is a risk factor for false confession. These two facts place suspected youths in double jeopardy in the interrogation room.

Am Psychol. 2007 Sep;62(6):609-11. Redlich AD. Policy Research Associates, Delmar, NY 12054, USA. aredlich@prainc.com

Stephen Post is Professor of Bioethics & Family Medicine in the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, and served as a Senior Research Scholar in the Becket Institute at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University. He is also President of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love (IRUL) - Altruism, Compassion, Service, which was founded in 2001 with a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Dr. Post has published over 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, The International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, The Journal of Religion, The American Journal of Psychiatry, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet. He has written seven scholarly books on love, and is also the editor of eight other books, including The Fountain of Youth: Cultural, Scientific & Ethical Perspectives on a Biomedical Goal and Altruism and Health: An Empirical Approach, both published by Oxford University Press. He is also editor-in-chief of the definitive, five-volume Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Dr. Post received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Board of the Alzheimer's Association. His most recent book is Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Science That Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Happier, Healthier Life, co-authored with Jill Neimark. He has chaired nine national conferences in his field. He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio, with his wife, Mitsuko, and their two children, Emma and Andrew.

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The current study examined 4- and 5-year-olds' memory for an event that was experienced once or was the first in a sequence of four similar events. The event was private swimming lessons for beginners that, because of natural variation in fear of water, were experienced as stressful for some children and not stressful for others. Consistent with much previous research, there was evidence that repeat-event children remembered less than did single-event children. There was some evidence for a beneficial influence of stress on resistance to suggestions. No other effects of stress were found in either the single- or repeat-event children. Implications for the debate on the influence of stress on memory and for children's testimony are discussed.

J Exp Child Psychol. 2007 Oct;98(2):94-112. Price HL, Connolly DA. Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6. heather.prince@uregina.ca

A hypnotically based intervention to enhance creativity in drawing was evaluated in a controlled study. Participants were randomly assigned to either a hypnotic treatment or a nonhypnotic (task-motivational) control treatment. Subjects drew a standard still-life tableau twice. The first drawing involved no special instructions and provided a baseline measure of creativity in drawing. The second drawing was completed after the creativity-enhancement procedure. The drawings were rated blindly on several dimensions of artistic creativity. Hypnotizability, absorption, and debriefing measures were also administered. Results indicated that the hypnotic procedure had significantly greater effects on creativity in drawing. However, there were no significant main effects or interactions involving hypnotizability or absorption. Hypnotic and task-motivational groups did not differ on debriefing measures regarding their experience.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Oct;55(4):467-85. Council JR, Bromley KA, Zabelina DL, Waters CG. North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58105, USA. james.council@ndsu.edu

by Wil Horton, Psy. D. CAC CMI

Take the following 20 question, multiple choice test on Neuro Linguistic Psychology and test you base rate. Answers are provided at the end.

1. The ------------------ is a great tool for addictions problems as it settles internal conflict

A. Meta Model

B. Visual Squash

C. Swish Pattern

D. Rapport

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Many skin disorders have a significant psychosomatic component. Focused history-taking coupled with hypnoanalysis using ideomotor finger signals to detect positive responses to one or more of 7 common triggering or exacerbating factors permits systematic diagnosis of the presence or absence of a significant psychosomatic component. If no factor is positive, a psychosomatic component to the skin disorder can likely be excluded. If one or two of the 7 factors are positive and it is possible to identify the initiating event, treatment by reframing with suggestions in hypnosis may succeed in defusing the associated negative emotional impact associated with the psychosomatic component of the skin disorder. This may be sufficient to uproot and weed out the problem.

However, if a multiple of the 7 factors are positive as in the included case report, referral to an appropriate psychotherapist is recommended.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Oct;50(2):131-6. Shenefelt PD. Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA. pshenefe@health.usf.edu

Where do our beliefs come from, and why do we hold on to some of them even if there is evidence to the contrary? Why, for example, do we continue to be fascinated by God, religion, haunted houses, UFOs, conspiracy theories, and miracle cures, even when science can dispute many of these claims? Is it because we are uneducated, or are our brains designed to interpret and seek out such possibilities in the world? Simply put: Why do we believe what we believe?

In Dr. Newberg's new book, Why We Believe What We Believe, he focuses on the underlying mechanisms which govern our spiritual, social, and individual beliefs, arguing that we are biologically driven to find meaning and wholeness throughout our lives. In fact, our brains have the capacity to create and maintain a system of beliefs which can take us far beyond our survival-oriented needs. These belief systems not only shape our morals and ethics, but they can be harnessed to heal our bodies and minds, enhance our intimate relationships, and deepen our spiritual connections with others. However, they can also be used to manipulate and control, for we are also born with a biological propensity to impose our belief systems on others. This innate power of our beliefs to heal or injure, to foster happiness or disease, or generate societal friction or peace is the underlying theme of this book.

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For many years Western Medicine has considered the immune system to be separate and independent from the central nervous system. However, significant scientific advances and research discoveries that occurred during the past 50 years have presented additional facts that the immune system does interact with the central nervous system with mutual influence. This article provides a systematic review of the literature on the connection between the brain and the immune system and its clinical implications. It then provides a rational foundation for the role of using hypnosis and imagery to therapeutically influence the immune system. Five case examples are provided with illustrated instructions for clinicians on how hypnosis and imagery may be utilized in the treatment of patients with auto-immune disorders. Suggestions for future research in this field are included.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Oct;50(2):157-70. Torem MS. North East Ohio Universities College of Medicine, USA. mtorem@agmc.org

Hypnosis has been used for centuries to treat various types of pain problems. Anecdotal reports of its efficacy have been around since the early 1800's, but only recently has sophisticated research advanced the field. This paper will summarize the theoretical and clinical foundations of hypnotic analgesia, as well as offer recommendations for increasing its efficacy and improving future research to advance the field.

Expert Rev Neurother. 2007 Dec;7(12):1675-83. Wiechman Askay S, Patterson DR. University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 325 Ninth Avenue, Box 359740, Seattle, WA 98104, USA.

This study examined the effects of hypnosis on both pain and reexperiencing of trauma in burn patients. Forty-four patients hospitalized for burn care were randomly assigned to either hypnotherapy or a control group. Direct and indirect hypnotic suggestions were used to reduce pain and reexperiencing of trauma.

All patients received routine burn care. Pain reports were quantified by using a self-report numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 5. The number of recalled vivid, troubling events of the trauma in 24-hour intervals was used for rating the reexperiencing of trauma. The hypnotherapy group showed significantly lower pain ratings than the control group and reported a significant reduction in pain from baseline. There was a significant reduction in trauma reexperience scores in the hypnotherapy group but not the control group. The findings support the efficacy of hypnotherapy in the management of both pain and reexperiencing of trauma in burn patients.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):185-97. Shakibaei F, Harandi AA, Gholamrezaei A, Samoei R, Salehi P. Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Have you ever seen someone at a restaurant, trying to decide what they are going to order? They may look up, pause, look down, lick their lips, touch their stomach, then order something; or they may repeat the options to themselves, (in their heads, or some times out loud, "a quarter pounder with cheese, hum"). They may even ask someone else, "What's good?" (Hoping your tastes are similar). What ever they do, they are running some type of Strategy, and most, if not all, of it is preconscious. We are not aware of how we do it. We just do it.

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Dr. Luskin's work combines lecture with a hands-on approach to the ancient tradition of forgiveness. Participants explore forgiveness with the goal of reducing hurt and helplessness, letting go of anger and increasing confidence and hope as they learn how to release unwanted hurts and grudges. His presentations explore the HEAL process of forgiveness that, when learned, can lead to enhanced well-being through self-care. In class practice may include guided imagery, journal writing and discussion all presented in a safe and nurturing environment.Dr. Luskin holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Health Psychology from Stanford University.

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Neuroscience and bioinformatics research on activity-dependent gene expression and brain plasticity in memory and learning are used to reconceptualize a fundamental question of therapeutic hypnosis, "What is a suggestion?" John Kihlstrom's cognitive-behavioral perspective of implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) memory and Eric Kandel's Nobel Prize winning neurobiological research are integrated for a 30-year update of Milton H. Erickson's "neuro-psycho-physiology" of therapeutic hypnosis. Implicit processing heuristics are proposed as a more general framework for Erickson's concept of permissive indirect suggestions in therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy. These perspectives are illustrated by utilizing implicit processing heuristics to facilitate the four-stage creative process in converting implicit to explicit memory in a brain-damaged patient.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Apr;49(4):267-81. Rossi EL, Rossi KL. Ernest@ErnestRossi.com

A case of secondary diurnal enuresis (SDE) after a car accident was treated with hypnosis by means of the Hypnotic Trauma Narrative, an instrument created by the authors for use with children who have been exposed to traumatic events and develop either classic symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder or manifest other psychosomatic symptoms. An ABAB time-series design with multiple replications was employed to measure the relationship of the hypnotic treatment to the dependent measure: episodes of diurnal incontinence. The findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between the degree of change from phase to phase and the treatment. Hypnosis with the Hypnotic Trauma Narrative was deemed efficacious as a method for the treatment of secondary diurnal enuresis.

The patient was symptom-free at follow-up 6 months later.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):229-40. Iglesias A, Iglesias A. Private Practice, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA.

by Wil Horton, Psy. D. CAC CMI

As I was thinking about what to write for this article, I received a phone call from a rather distraught young man. He was quite upset that he had to leave his job as an iron worker because he was having severe panic attacks whenever he went above a couple of stories. As I gathered information, I found that he had avoided jobs for a couple of years that would require heights. As we made an appointment, I knew that he would need a Phobia relief technique, and I could use this as a teaching tool for this article.

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Context: Placebo and nocebo effects, the therapeutic and adverse effects, respectively, of inert substances or sham procedures, represent serious confounds in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions. They are also an example of cognitive processes, particularly expectations, capable of influencing physiology.

Objective: To examine the contribution of 2 different neurotransmitters, the endogenous opioid and the dopaminergic (DA) systems, to the development of placebo and nocebo effects.

Design and Setting: Using a within-subject design, subjects twice underwent a 20-minute standardized pain challenge, in the absence and presence of a placebo with expected analgesic properties. Studies were conducted in a university hospital setting.

Participants: Twenty healthy men and women aged 20 to 30 years recruited by advertisement.

Main Outcome Measures: Activation of DA and opioid neurotransmission by a pain stressor with and without placebo (changes in the binding potential of carbon 11 [11C]?labeled raclopride and [11C] carfentanil with positron emission tomography) and ratings of pain, affective state, and anticipation and perception of analgesia.

Results: Placebo-induced activation of opioid neurotransmission was detected in the anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal and insular cortices, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and periaqueductal gray matter. Dopaminergic activation was observed in the ventral basal ganglia, including the nucleus accumbens. Regional DA and opioid activity were associated with the anticipated and subjectively perceived effectiveness of the placebo and reductions in continuous pain ratings. High placebo responses were associated with greater DA and opioid activity in the nucleus accumbens. Nocebo responses were associated with a deactivation of DA and opioid release. Nucleus accumbens DA release accounted for 25% of the variance in placebo analgesic effects.

Conclusions: Placebo and nocebo effects are associated with opposite responses of DA and endogenous opioid neurotransmission in a distributed network of regions. The brain areas involved in these phenomena form part of the circuit typically implicated in reward responses and motivated behavior.

David J. Scott, BS; Christian S. Stohler, DDS, PhD; Christine M. Egnatuk, BS; Heng Wang, PhD; Robert A. Koeppe, PhD; Jon-Kar Zubieta, MD, PhD Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry and Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute (Mr Scott, Ms Egnatuk, and Drs Wang and Zubieta) and Department of Radiology (Drs Koeppe and Zubieta), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore (Dr Stohler).

By Wil Horton, Psy. D. CAC CMI

As a hypnotist I am constantly working with clients who want to lose weight and get in shape. With this in mind I want you to have a good working knowledge of what a good program for lifestyle changes and physical fitness is all about. It is not to say that we need to become personal trainers, but we need to be able to understand the basics, so we can communicate this to our clients.

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Relationships between recall of low and high imagery paired-associate (P-A) words and hypnotic susceptibility, and the influence of hypnosis on recall as moderated by hypnotic level were examined. Subjects were assessed on 2 hypnotic susceptibility scales [Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility; Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C)]. Forty-one low (0-4 SHSS:C) and 41 highly (9-12 SHSS:C) hypnotizable college students were assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups: waking-hypnosis, hypnosis-waking, waking-waking, or hypnosis-hypnosis. Recall was significantly better for high than low imagery words. In the more sensitive within-subjects design, high hypnotizables recalled more P-A words during hypnosis than waking, and lows did not differ. In the between-subjects design, hypnotic level was not a moderator of performance during hypnosis. Low hypnotizables recalled more words in the within-subjects design. Visualization ability was a poor moderator of imagery-mediated learning. High imagery recall correlated significantly with Marks's (1973) Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (.25) and Paivio and Harshman's (1983) Individual Differences Questionnaire (IDQ) Verbal scale (.29), but not with the IDQ Imagery scale, the Mental Rotations Test (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1973), or the revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test (Likert & Quasha, 1941).

Am J Psychol. 1996 Fall;109(3):353-72. Crawford HJ, Allen SN. Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 24061-0436, USA. HJC@VT.EDU

In the last decade, a considerable number of studies have been made on the cognitive processing of music. A patient with pure amusia due to the infarction of anterior portion of bilateral temporal lobes revealed the disturbance of the discrimination of chords. Using positron emission tomography, these regions were activated when musically naive normal subjects listened to the harmony compared to the rhythm of identical music. So, we concluded that anterior temporal portion might participate in the recognition of chords. Several articles reported that the musician's brain was different from nonmusicians' functionally and anatomically. This difference was considered to be caused by the musical training for a long time. Recent studies clarified that the reorganization might occur by musical training for a few months. Melodic intonation therapy (MIT) is a method aimed to improve speech output of aphasic patients, using short melodic phrase with a word. The literatures of mental processing of music suggested that right hemisphere might participate in the expression of music, namely singing and playing instrumentals. So, it was supposed that MIT utilized the compensational function of right hemisphere for damaged left hemisphere. We also reported that mental singing improved the gait disturbance of patients with Parkinson's disease. Music therapy is changing from a social science model based on the individual experiences to a neuroscience-guided model based on brain function and cognitive processing of the perception and expression of music.

Rinsho Shinkeigaku. 2007 Nov;47(11):868-70. Satoh M, Takeda K, Kuzuhara S. Mie St. Cross Hospital.