Cross-evidence for hypnotic susceptibility through nonlinear measures on EEGs of non-hypnotized...

Assessment of hypnotic susceptibility is usually obtained through the application of psychological instruments. A satisfying classification obtained through quantitative measures is still missing, although it would be very useful for both diagnostic and clinical purposes. Aiming at investigating the relationship between the cortical brain activity and the hypnotic susceptibility level, we propose the combined use of two methodologies - Recurrence Quantification Analysis and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis - both inherited from nonlineardynamics. Indicators obtained through the application of these techniques to EEG signals of individuals in their ordinary state of consciousness allowed us to obtain a clear discrimination between subjects with high and low susceptibility to hypnosis. Finally a neural network approach was used to perform classification analysis.

Sci Rep. 2014 Jul 8;4:5610. doi: 10.1038/srep05610. Chiarucci R(1), Madeo D(1), Loffredo MI(1), Castellani E(2), Santarcangelo EL(2), Mocenni C(1). Author information: (1)1] Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, Italy [2] Complex Systems Community, University of Siena, Italy. (2)Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy.