The real mystery about hypnosis is the simplicity of induction and the ease with which a willing participant will accept and work within the trance state. Something so natural must involve neural systems that make trance a normal phenomenon. Presented is the language for emotion developed by Silvan Tomkins between 1960 and his death in 1991, brought into contemporary science by the author. Tomkins focused on the facial displays of affect, programmed reactions to specific patterns of stimulation. Each of these 9 innate mechanisms initiates a reaction pattern people experience as an emotion that brings its trigger into conscious awareness. How people think about or understand anything is controlled by the affect with which it has become linked. Cognitions locked to unpleasant emotions can become disturbingly resistant to change until trance work alters the affective environment of the participant.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Oct;57(4):319-42.Nathanson DL. Silvan S. Tomkins Institute and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19103-6224, USA. nathanson@tomkins.org

OBJECTIVE: To observe clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture combined with music therapy for treatment of cerebral palsy. METHODS: Sixty children with cerebral palsy were randomly divided into an acupuncture group (Group Acup.) and an acupuncture plus music group (Group Acup.+ M). Simple acupuncture was applied in Group Acup., and acupuncture at 5 groups of points plus music were applied in Group Acup. +M. The treatment was given once every two days with 3 treatments weekly, and 36 treatments constituted a therapeutic course. Therapeutic effects including movement improvement were observed for comparison after 3 courses of treatments. RESULTS: The comprehensive functions were elevated in both groups, and the total effective rate in Group Acup. + M was obviously better than that in Group Acup (P < 0.05). Movement functions were also improved in both groups, but the differences in improvement of creeping and kneeling, standing, and walking were significant between the two groups (P < 0.01), showing the effect in Group Acup. + M was better than that in Group Acup.. CONCLUSION: The therapy of acupuncture plus music gained better therapeutic effect on cerebral palsy than simple acupuncture, which provided new thoughts for treating the disease by comprehensive therapies.

J Tradit Chin Med. 2009 Dec;29(4):243-8. Yu HB, Liu YF, Wu LX. Department of Acupuncture, Shenzhen TCM Hospital of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen 518000, China.