There are so many ways to quit smoking, and in their quest to stop, many smokers try everything from quitting cold turkey to one-on-one counseling to nicotine patches and gums -- or combinations of all of the above. If these stop smoking methods haven't worked for you, or you just want to take a more holistic approach, you may want to try hypnotherapy.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

The advance of civilizations requires the instigation of adaptive change within societies as they are forced to adjust to the pain of famine, natural calamities, and war, as well as to the exigencies of fortune. This may move them in a negative or positive direction. If the latter occurs, a review of history clearly shows that one central theme always dominates human – and that of any organism – accomplishment. That theme is "cooperation. " Indeed, the tendency for elements of a system to work in harmonious effort leads to undertakings that would be impossible – or at least highly improbable – for lone effort. This is true as proteins cooperate to allow cells to live, as cells with common purpose organize and become organs, as organs become aggregate bodies, as bodies become communities, and as communities become nations.

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Dr. Janet Crain was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated with honors from the State University College of Buffalo in 1976. She received her D.M.D degree in 1981 at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts.

She has completed many hours of continuing education training including a program at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in the diagnosis and treatment of the temporomandibular joint.

Dr. Crain then became a Certified Hypnotherapist and a Certified Instructor in Hypnosis with the National Guild of Hypnotists. She has had special training in Pain and Stress Management and lectures internationally on this subject.

In 2006, she was recognized as one of America's top dentists by Consumers' Research Council of America. She is currently in private practice in New Jersey devoted to the treatment of head and facial pain and TMJ disorders.

For more information, visit www.tranceandental.com

The readiness potential (RP) is one of the most controversial topics in neuroscience and philosophy due to its perceived relevance to the role of conscious willing in action. Libet and colleagues reported that RP onset precedes both volitional movement and conscious awareness of willing that movement, suggesting that the experience of conscious will may not cause volitional movement (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983). Rather, they suggested that the RP indexes unconscious processes that may actually cause both volitional movement and the accompanying conscious feeling of will (Libet et al., 1983; pg. 640). Here, we demonstrate that volitional movement can occur without an accompanying feeling of will. We additionally show that the neural processes indexed by RPs are insufficient to cause the experience of conscious willing. Specifically, RPs still occur when subjects make self-timed, endogenously-initiated movements due to a post-hypnotic suggestion, without a conscious feeling of having willed those movements.

Conscious Cogn. 2015 Jan 19;33C:196-203. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.002. Schlegel A1, Alexander P2, Sinnott-Armstrong W3, Roskies A4, Tse PU2, Wheatley T2. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The last decade or two has witnessed an alternate form of therapy gaining a lot of popularity in the medical fraternity. This alternate therapy is hypnotherapy, which has gained a lot of popularity in the West and is also catching up in India. One of the very important areas in the medical space where the role of hypnotherapy is growing is surgery.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Strangely enough one of the most profound discoveries came not from a neuroscientist, but a Canadian psychologist. In 1949, Donald Hebb, PhD, was trying to explain how neurons reacted to an animal's experience. His focus was on learning and memory. He noted (Begley, 2007) that when a presynaptic neuron's firing changed, the postsynaptic neuron changed as well. This simultaneous response led to the phrase, "Cells that fire together, wire together." The significance of this came from the realization that patterns of synaptic firing followed perceptions and thoughts.

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Chuck Mignosa is a Certified Hypnotherapist, NLP Master Practitioner, Time Line Therapy and Reiki Master Sensei. He has lectured and performs around the world. Since 1976, he has worked with Ormond McGill both performing and lecturing. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at colleges and universities. He teaches both the art and science of "Hypnosis, Illusion vs. Reality," and the "Magic of the Mind." Chuck is a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, the Psychic Entertainers Association and the Academy of Magical Arts.

For more information, visit www.hypnotizethis.com

Sleep quality markedly declines across the human lifespan. Particularly the amount of slow-wave sleep (SWS) decreases with age and this decrease is paralleled by a loss of cognitive functioning in the elderly. Here we show in healthy elderly females that the amount of SWS can be extended by a hypnotic suggestion "to sleep deeper" before sleep. In a placebo-controlled cross-over design, participants listened to hypnotic suggestions or a control tape before a midday nap while high density electroencephalography was recorded. After the hypnotic suggestion, we observed a 57% increase in SWS in females suggestible to hypnosis as compared to the control condition. Furthermore, left frontal slow-wave activity (SWA), characteristic for SWS, was significantly increased, followed by a significant improvement in prefrontal cognitive functioning after sleep. Our results suggest that hypnotic suggestions might be a successful alternative for widely-used sleep-enhancing medication to extend SWS and improve cognition in the elderly.

Neuropsychologia. 2015 Mar;69:176-82. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.001. Epub 2015 Feb 4. Cordi MJ1, Hirsiger S2, Mérillat S2, Rasch B3. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A California woman who describes herself as Barbie-obsessed says she uses hypnotherapy sessions in the hopes that it will decrease her IQ.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

One thing that I have learned from theoretical physicists is that we filter an unlimited universe in order to create our perception of reality. This restricts our concept of self, which is very obviously a product of more than just our genetics and the accidental circumstances to which we are born. It seems that since our birth environmental influences began shaping our bodies and minds into what we mistakenly understand as our self-identity. However, if those learned filters are questioned, just maybe we can discover that we are much, much more than we ever imagined. Indeed, within each of us there are endless possibilities. Once we realize this perhaps we can start writing our own story rather than having it done for us.

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Melissa Barnes has studied the art of hypnosis for over 11 years. In 1992, she completed the basic certification course in hypnotherapy from the National Guild of Hypnotists and received her certification as a clinical hypnotherapist in 1993. In the same year, she received her certification in advanced clinical hypnotherapy. She has been a member in good standing with the National Guild of Hypnotists every year since.

In 1998, she received certification as a HypnoBirthing Practioner from Marie Mongan, the originator of the course. In 1999, she completed Dr. William Horton's Basic Practioner training in Neurolinguistic Programming and received her certification from The National Federation of NeuroLinguistic Psychology.

In 2000, the Mid-America Hypnosis Conference honored her with the title of "Hypnotist of the Year" for her pioneering work in the field of hypnosis with the Deaf. In the past ten years, she has given hundreds of stage hypnosis demonstrations to high schools, colleges, and business conventions throughout the Mid-west.

She has also helped students improve their study skills, lower their test anxiety, and improve their athletic performance. In addition, she has offered self-hypnosis workshops, stop smoking seminars, and HypnoBirthing classes.

For more information, visit www.melissabarnes.com

Although part of the medical fold since the 1870s, hypnosis was long relegated to the margins, recognised and used by only a relatively small group of medical professionals. In the decades around 1900 hypnotic techniques were monopolised as a form of medical treatment through a long and in no way linear process. Hypnosis of laymen was vehemently opposed, however, denounced as being far too dangerous. And yet, medical participation in the aura of spectacular intervention into the human psyche garnered support. The medium of both documentary and instructional film served an important function in this regard, conveying popular interest in acknowledging hypnosis as a scientific method. On the basis of four medically accredited films on hypnosis from 1920 to 1936, this paper attempts to investigate how medical experts and these genres, as part of their effort to claim hypnosis from the realm of public spectacle and parapsychological experimentation, worked to stabilise hypnosis as a purified form of medical and psychiatric practice.

Ber Wiss. 2014 Dec;37(4):363-78. Ledebur S.

Recent research suggests that expectancies about being hypnotized have a determinant role in the hypnotic experience. The authors analyzed the relationship between expectancies and the phenomenology of hypnosis using the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory and Hypnotic Assessment Procedure. Participants (115) were assigned either to the imagination (hypnosis labeled as imagination) or the hypnosis conditions. Results revealed only a minor influence of expectancies and none on the label "hypnosis" across all variables. These findings indicate that the methodology commonly used to study the influence of expectancies on hypnotic responsiveness and phenomenology might represent a flaw in favor of a causal relationship between expectancies and hypnotic experience.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(2):129-43. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.1002713. Tomé Pires C1, Ludeña MA, Lopes Pires C.

Hypnotherapy is a clinical form of hypnosis that's used to help people break free from addiction and stress. Hypnosis is often written off as a joke but for people who suffer from addiction or severe anxiety, it can be life changing.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

Integrative medical interventions intended to address allergies and other autoimmune disorders usually fail to adequately address the nature of the human immune system. The body's homeostatic balance should assume that our immune system can properly identify times when a foreign body is a threat and when it is not. However, to fully understand its true nature and how integrative interventions may apply, the clinician must realize its duality.

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Hypnosis modulates pain perception and tolerance by affecting cortical and subcortical activity in brain regions involved in these processes. By reviewing functional neuroimaging studies focusing on pain perception under hypnosis, the authors aimed to identify brain activation-deactivation patterns occurring in hypnosis-modulated pain conditions. Different changes in brain functionality occurred throughout all components of the pain network and other brain areas. The anterior cingulate cortex appears to be central in modulating pain circuitry activity under hypnosis. Most studies also showed that the neural functions of the prefrontal, insular, and somatosensory cortices are consistently modified during hypnosis-modulated pain conditions. Functional neuroimaging studies support the clinical use of hypnosis in the management of pain conditions.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(2):144-70. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2015.1002371. Del Casale A1, Ferracuti S, Rapinesi C, Serata D, Caltagirone SS, Savoja V, Piacentino D, Callovini G, Manfredi G, Sani G, Kotzalidis GD, Girardi P.

Janalea Hoffman has been a pioneer in the field of music therapy. She started her own company, RHYTHMIC MEDICINE, in 1978 as a private practice. Out of this practice, specializing in guided imagery, music and relaxation, she developed many unique techniques that she now teaches to other music therapists and health care professionals, as well as the general public. Working with many clients has inspired her to create musical techniques - "Musical Acupuncture" to help with pain and "Musical Biofeedback" to lower heart rate and blood pressure through special therapeutic music.

In her presentations she provides relevant research about healing music based on her work, as well as that of other researchers, and then takes the audience through different inward musical experiences, such as Musical Acupuncture and Musical Biofeedback.

For more information, visit www.rhythmicmedicine.com