A new bioinformatics paradigm for the theory, research, and practice of therapeutic hypnosis.

In a 2008 pilot study we used DNA microarrays to explore the historical ideo-plastic faculty of therapeutic hypnosis. We documented how to measure changes in activity or experience-dependent gene expression over relatively brief time periods (1 hour and 24 hours) following a single intervention of therapeutic hypnosis (about 1 hour). In the present paper we utilize bioinformatic software to explore the possible meaning and significance of this ideo-plastic faculty of therapeutic hypnosis. Indications suggest that the ideo-plastic process of therapeutic hypnosis may be associated with (1) the heightening of a molecular-genomic signature for the up-regulation (heightened activity) of genes characteristic of stem cell growth, (2) a reduction in cellular oxidative stress, and (3) a reduction in chronic inflammation. We identify these three empirical associations as an initial beta version of the molecular-genomic signature of the ideo-plastic process of therapeutic hypnosis, which can serve as a theoretical and practical guide for clinical excellence by beginners as well as senior professionals. We propose this molecular-genomic level of discourse as a supplement to the traditional cognitive-behavioral description of therapeutic suggestion, hypnosis, and psychotherapy that is consistent with "translational research" currently funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Am J Clin Hypn. 2010 Jul;53(1):27-46. Atkinson D, Iannotti S, Cozzolino M, Castiglione S, Cicatelli A, Vyas B, Mortimer J, Hill R, Chovanec E, Chiamberlando A, Cuadros J, Virot C, Kerouac M, Kallfass T, Krippner S, Frederick C, Gregory B, Shaffran M, Bullock M, Soleimany E, Rossi AC, Rossi K, Rossi E. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA.