Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of identifying and addressing failures of realerting or dehypnosis. In parallel with the exploration of the adverse consequences of hypnosis in workshop settings, a number of techniques for effecting realerting subjects from hypnosis were collected. Some of these techniques are well-known, some were developed by applying techniques developed for other purposes to the task of realerting, and some were developed by the author when other known techniques proved unsuccessful or were rejected by subjects requiring dehypnosis. This article reports 15 techniques, three of which are foundational and designed to orient the subject to becoming realerted, and 12 more specific approaches to achieving dehypnosis. When appropriate, the particular opportunities of and the potential difficulties and relative contraindications for each technique are discussed.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2012 Oct;55(2):140-59. Kluft RP. Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. rpkluft@aol.com

by Tim Brunson PhD

The placebo effect and suggestion are indeed similar. They provide positive expectations. And, when coupled with the reverent authority of the operator or administrator of the drug, both present great value. However, since the standards (used by the FDA) attribute only a 0.3 correlation to the placebo effect, this does not explain why the use of hypnosis can produce much greater results. For instance, in forensic hypnosis approximately 80% of the cases were either solved leading to conviction or valuable information was obtained (according to Dr. Diamond, the head psychologist for the LAPD). Also, my experience with IBS and Fibromyalgia is that about 90% of the refractory, long-term cases benefit with major symptom relief through the use of hypnosis protocols. This is backed up by several research studies conducted by medical hospitals and documented on PUBMED.

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CONTEXT: Focused hypnotic concentration is a model for brain control over sensation and behavior. Pain and anxiety can be effectively alleviated by hypnotic suggestion, which modulates activity in brain regions associated with focused attention, but the specific neural network underlying this phenomenon is not known.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the brain basis of hypnotizability.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional, in vivo neuroimaging study performed from November 2005 through July 2006.

SETTING: Academic medical center at Stanford University School of Medicine.

PATIENTS: Twelve adults with high and 12 adults with low hypnotizability.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure functional connectivity networks at rest, including default-mode, salience, and executive-control networks; structural T1 magnetic resonance imaging to measure regional gray and white matter volumes; and diffusion tensor imaging to measure white matter microstructural integrity.

RESULTS: High compared with low hypnotizable individuals had greater functional connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an executive-control region of the brain, and the salience network composed of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, amygdala, and ventral striatum, involved in detecting, integrating, and filtering relevant somatic, autonomic, and emotional information using independent component analysis. Seed-based analysis confirmed elevated functional coupling between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in high compared with low hypnotizable individuals. These functional differences were not due to any variation in brain structure in these regions, including regional gray and white matter volumes and white matter microstructure.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide novel evidence that altered functional connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex may underlie hypnotizability. Future studies focusing on how these functional networks change and interact during hypnosis are warranted.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012 Oct;69(10):1064-72. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2190. Hoeft F, Gabrieli JD, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Haas BW, Bammer R, Menon V, Spiegel D. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

by Tim Brunson PhD

When demonstrating or teaching NLP Eye Accessing Cues, I've often stated that our eyes are not only windows to our mind, but probably they should be considered an integral part of the brain itself. By studying that special relationship we may also discover some secrets about the functioning of our subconscious mind.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

The repetition of ideas and concepts is most definitely a significant aspect of how humans communicate and greatly affects how we acquire knowledge and skills. Advertising agencies use it – although in ways that too often annoy their intended audiences. When studying Tai Chi in Nuremberg many decades ago, I remember my Chinese-Malaysian master using the German phrase Übung macht den Meister, which roughly translates as "Practice makes perfect." This was ever so true when as a student helicopter pilot I practiced shutting down my engine and successfully auto-rotating to the ground at least a hundred times before my instructor considered me ready to take my flight exam. So, repetition obviously plays a very big role in the acceptance of a message and how mastery is achieved. As all communication and skill mastery needs to be considered in the context of how the brain is affected, it is no wonder that repetition plays a role in the practice of hypnotherapy.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

An issue that often comes up with new subjects involves fear and concerns about being led by the hypnotic operator to perform acts, which would be against that their moral or ethical values. This phenomenon is normally called hypnocontrol. This is a myth. Having performed hypnosis sessions since 1992, I've never seen anyone do anything that was against their will.

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By Tim Brunson PhD

I recently made a comment to a local university psychology instructor that even poorly done hypnosis can produce positive results. This statement was made based upon reading several thousand research articles and summaries outlining studies which discussed the efficacy of hypnotherapy for physiological or medical pathologies. Although I welcome the fact that most of the results indicate the value of such mind-body techniques as an adjunct to therapy, psychology, and medical protocols, I often cringe when I notice the incomplete application, limited approaches, or the relative inexperience of the hypnotic operator.

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INTRODUCTION: According to the cold control theory of hypnosis (Dienes and Perner, 2007), hypnotic response occurs because of inaccurate higher order thoughts of intending. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a region likely involved in constructing accurate higher order thoughts. Thus, disrupting DLPFC with low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) should make it harder to be aware of intending to perform an action. That is, it should be easier to respond to a hypnotic suggestion.

METHOD: Twenty-four medium hypnotisable subjects received low frequency rTMS to the left DLPFC and to a control site, the vertex, in counterbalanced order. The hypnotist was blind to which site had been stimulated. Subjects rated how strongly they expected to respond to each suggestion, and gave ratings on a 0-5 scale of the extent to which they experienced the response, for four suggestions (magnetic hands, arm levitation, rigid arm and taste hallucination). The experimenter also rated behavioural response.

RESULTS: Low frequency rTMS to the DLPFC rather than vertex increased the degree of combined behavioural and subjective response. Further, subjects did not differ in their expectancy that they would respond in the two conditions, so the rTMS had an effect on hypnotic response above and beyond expectancies.

CONCLUSIONS: The results support theories, including cold control theory, postulating a component of hypofrontality in hypnotic response.

Cortex. 2012 Sep 20. pii: S0010-9452(12)00249-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.07.009. Dienes Z, Hutton S. School of Psychology, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Electronic address: dienes@sussex.ac.uk.

The authors devised and validated a questionnaire assessing the various possible motivations for learning and using hypnosis and administered it to 125 Israeli psychologists, physicians, and dentists who study and/or use hypnosis in their clinical work. The results suggest that most professionals were motivated by a desire to improve their professional performance and that a majority of professionals were primarily influenced in their desire to learn hypnosis by colleagues in academically or clinically oriented settings.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013 Jan;61(1):71-80. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2013.729437. Meyerson J, Gelkopf M, Golan G, Shahamorov E. a Tel Aviv University , Israel.

by Tim Brunson PhD

There are many myths about hypnotizability. The first one that I encounter is that gullible and less intelligent individuals are more susceptible to being hypnotized. And secondly, some individuals believe that they cannot be hypnotized. The truth is that normally the person who has more intelligence, i.e., is more cognizant of his or her mental processes, is more likely to be willingly placed into a trance by a hypnosis operator. Likewise, since (to use a simplification of the generally accepted – by the AMA and APA – definition of hypnosis as an "altered state") hypnosis is generally any state other than that represented by full awareness (Beta brain wave frequency) and sleep (Delta brain wave frequency) it is obvious that to be human is to be capable of being hypnotized. Obviously, there must be a state between full concentration and awareness and the sleep state. Therefore, anyone can be hypnotized!

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After rapid hypnotic induction, 12 healthy volunteers underwent hypnotic deepening with relaxation or with fractionation (without relaxation) in a random latin-square protocol. Electroencephalographic occipital alpha activity was measured, low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography was performed, and hemodynamics (stroke volume, heart rate, cardiac output, mean arterial blood pressure, forearm arterial flow and resistance) were monitored in basal conditions and after deepening. After relaxation, both forearm flow (-18%) and blood pressure (-4%) decreased; forearm resistance remained unchanged. After fractionation, a forearm flow decrease comparable to that recorded after relaxation was observed, but blood pressure remained unchanged, leading to an increase of forearm resistance (+51%). Central hemodynamics did not change. Alpha activity increased in the precuneus after fractionation only. In conclusion, both relaxation and fractionation have vasoconstrictor effects, but fractionation is also associated with an increase in peripheral resistance.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2012 Jul;60(3):338-55. Casiglia E, Tikhonoff V, Giordano N, Regaldo G, Facco E, Marchetti P, Schiff S, Tosello MT, Giacomello M, Rossi AM, De Lazzari F, Palatini P, Amodio P. Department of Medicine, University of Padova and Italian Centre for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Torino, Italy. edoardo.casiglia@unipd.it

by Tim Brunson PhD

The tendency for any organization or profession to mislabel a hypnotic practitioner as a "lay" person is harmful to the general public and does nothing but question the credibility of the self-styled authority. Actually it is impossible to have a "lay" designation without the acceptance that hypnosis (or hypnotherapy) is a valid, unique profession.

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by Michael Ellner,

IMDHA Director of Regulatory Affairs

When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; ?I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; ?I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out;? I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews, ?I remained silent; ?I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me, ?there was no one left to speak out.

~ Martin Niemoller

With all due respect to the law, I believe Israel's sudden enforcement of a 1984 hypnosis law is a serious step in the wrong direction and a matter of concern for all of us!

While I advise Israeli hypnosis and NLP practitioners to respect the law, I believe that we all should work together to first, stopthe enforcement of a law that is nearly three decades old and second, kill or change the 1984 law confining the practice of hypnosis in Israel to medical professionals while criminalizing hypnosis and NLP practitioners who are not licensed medical practitioners.

Both of these goals can be accomplished as easily as putting friendly pressure on Israel's Health Ministry by creating an international petition calling on them to investigate their advisory committee's justification and motives for this sudden enforcement. I recommend the IMDHA send a letter to the Israeli Health Ministry respectfully challenging the logic and motivations of their Advisory Committees actions in this matter. We are not against the responsible regulation of hypnosis practitioners in Israel but that's not what the sudden enforcement and criminalization of non-licensed hypnosis and NLP practitioners is about. There were no complaints and no one was harmed to trigger this. There is little or no legitimate evidence warranting the sudden crack down on the practices of non-licensed medical hypnosis practitioners in Israel! Quite frankly, this is an abuse of power for all the wrong reasons.

Natalie Pik, the first hypnotist convicted of practicing hypnosis without a license in Israel's legal history was busted for placing an ad and teaching guided imagery. Nine other non-licensed hypnotists are currently under investigation. There is no need for this! Non-licensed hypnosis practitioners do not diagnose or treat diseases. We simply help people utilize their own innate healing resources by teaching them to de-stress and focus their attention in ways that promote, health, healing and well being. We help them become more effective in all areas of their lives. It would be in the best interest of the citizens of Israel to have health care providers utilize our services as a supplement to their patients' medical care. Instead, Dr. Alex Aviv, who is the head of the Ministry's advisory committee, is on a vendetta to wipe out non-licensed hypnosis and NLP practitioners. Quite frankly, I am confident that an investigation into this sudden enforcement will find no justification other than protectionism and the desire to outlaw credible competition!

Two serious consequence of restricting the practice of hypnosis by non-licensed medical hypnotists in Israel would be 1) denying the citizens of Israel access to cost effective assistance and 2) it would put 1000's of hypnotists and NLP practitioners out of work. Equally important, I believe the criminalization will be a springboard for the enactment of restrictive laws to spread like wildfire throughout the world. There were already efforts by a division of the Royal Medical Society to brand non-medical hypnosis practitioners as "cowboys" and advocate their restriction in the UK. That effort burned out quickly, but this current outrage could add fuel to their embers and re-start the fire. I can imagine the members of the Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine section of the Royal Society of Medicine and the members of the APA's division 30 licking their lips and reinvigorating their efforts to restrict hypnosis to licensed medical practitioners in the UK and US respectively.

Please join me in supporting Israeli Hypnosis and NLP practitioners. United We Stand - Divided, we could be denied the right to use our training and experience to assist people who want and need our services!

I have started an on-line petition and encourage all hypnosis practitioners to sign on and support this effort.

Here's the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-israeli-ministry-of-health-suspend-the-enforcement-of-the-1984-hypnosis-laws

by Tim Brunson PhD

If you think you know what defines depth of hypnosis, you are most likely wrong. The current "wisdom" among hypno-experts is that reduction of brain waves or the ability to produce anesthesia is what hypnotic depth is all about. I'm going to strongly disagree. Being able to measure neural frequencies (e.g., detecting that a subject has moved from Beta, through Alpha and then to Theta) or finding that a medical or dental procedure can be performed without pain or discomfort may be a measure of depth and yet not really define it. Now, before my trusted friends and colleagues start complaining about me again splitting semantic hairs, let me explain.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

Regardless whether one uses the term change or transformation, the hypnotherapist's obsession with altering human condition too often lacks the appreciation of the true potential of the process. Unfortunately "change" has become the cliché of therapists and even politicians without a comprehensive level of understanding. So, regardless as to whether one feels that a particular new situation or condition is desired or not, the ability to create a desired future can only be intentional if there is an adequate awareness of the journey.

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Full title: Knowledge and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine among medical students in Turkey.

This study aims to examine knowledge and attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among medical students in Turkey, and find out whether they want to be trained in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). S: A cross-sectional study was carried out between October and December 2010 among medical students. Data were collected from a total of seven medical schools.The study included 943 medical students. The most well known methods among the students were herbal treatment (81.2%), acupuncture (80.8%), hypnosis (78.8%), body-based practices including massage (77%) and meditation (65.2%), respectively. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal treatment and meditation were better known among female participants compared to males (p<0.05). Females and first year students, generally had more positive attitudes. A larger proportion of female students compared to male students reported that a doctor should be knowledgeable about CAM (p=0.001), and this knowledge would be helpful in their future professional lives (p=0.015). Positive attitudes towards and willingness to receive training declined as the number of years spent in the faculty of medicine increased. Majority of the medical students were familiar with the CAM methods widely used in Turkey, while most of them had positive attitudes towards CAM as well as willingness to receive training on the subject, and they were likely to recommend CAM methods to their patients in their future professional lives. With its gradual scientific development and increasing popularity, there appears a need for a coordinated policy in integrating CAM into the medical curriculum, by taking expectations of and feedback from medical students into consideration in setting educational standards.

BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Aug 3;12(1):115. [Epub ahead of print] Akan H, Izb 305 Rak G, Kaspar EC, Apayd 305 N CD, Ayd 305 N S, Demircan N, Erten G, Ozer C, 351 Ahin HA, Hayran O.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

There is an incorrect presumption by some that all hypnosis involves either stage-related entertainment or constitutes a practice of psychotherapy. This limited view is completely incorrect. Furthermore, such an extremely limited view of hypnosis represents a complete misunderstanding of its definition and application. Yes, although hypnosis can be used for entertainment purposes and during any psychotherapeutic endeavors, it is clearly much more than that as it permeates a much wider range of mental functioning and human communication. (The International Hypnosis Research Institute offers well thought out definitions on our website).

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The neurophysiological substrates of hypnosis have been subject to speculation since the phenomenon got its name. Until recently, much of this research has been geared toward understanding hypnosis itself, including the biological bases of individual differences in hypnotizability, state-dependent changes in cortical activity occurring with the induction of hypnosis, and the neural correlates of response to particular hypnotic suggestions (especially the clinically useful hypnotic analgesia). More recently, hypnosis has begun to be employed as a method for manipulating subjects' mental states, both cognitive and affective, to provide information about the neural substrates of experience, thought, and action. This instrumental use of hypnosis is particularly well-suited for identifying the neural correlates of conscious and unconscious perception and memory, and of voluntary and involuntary action.

Cortex. 2012 Jun 5. Kihlstrom JF. University of California, Berkeley, United States.

by Tim Brunson PhD

Rarely does a month pass by without me hearing some wizened authority admonishing an audience to refrain from using the word "patients" to describe the people they serve. These cautionary statements have sufficient legal and ethical overtones to scare those present into submission. However, is this really accurate? Is it in the best interests of the public? Have the phobic adherents to self-styled political correctness deviated sufficiently from the realm of linguistic truthfulness to effectively demean the people they serve?

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

In 1955, when Darold Treffert, MD, (1989) reported for his first position as an attending psychiatrist, among his first patients there were several autistics with special abilities. Young David had memorized the bus schedule for each stop in every major city in Wisconsin. Then Billy could stand on the free throw line of the hospital's basketball court and NEVER miss a shot. During his career Treffert discovered that approximately 10% of all people diagnosed with autism in the state of Wisconsin had some type of savant-like abilities.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

There are two major – yet substantially different – concepts regarding the implication of inhibition on the practice of clinical hypnotherapy. The first refers to a voluntary or involuntary diminishment of cerebral blood flow to one or more substrates. Through the use of hypnosis the inhibition of one or more substrates will precipitate an activation of other substrates. The result of such action serves to unleash the roles and capabilities of the activated substrate(s). Additionally, if such inhibition adversely affects the left prefrontal cortex, then the lessened influence tends to help intervention efforts.5 This is called the "substitution effect. "

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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly used for treating myriad health conditions and for maintaining general health. The present article provides an overview of current CAM use with a specific focus on mind-body CAM and its efficacy in treating health conditions. Characteristics of CAM users are presented, and then evidence regarding the efficacy of mind-body treatments (biofeedback, meditation, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, hypnosis, yoga, tai chi, and qi gong) is reviewed. Demographics associated with CAM use are fairly well-established, but less is known about their psychological characteristics. Although the efficacy of mind-body CAM modalities for health conditions is receiving a great deal of research attention, studies have thus far produced a weak base of evidence. Methodological limitations of current research are reviewed. Suggestions are made for future research that will provide more conclusive knowledge regarding efficacy and, ultimately, effectiveness of mind-body CAM. Considerations for clinical applications, including training and competence, ethics, treatment tailoring, prevention efforts, and diversity, conclude the article. Integration of CAM modalities into clinical health psychology can be useful for researchers taking a broader perspective on stress and coping processes, illness behaviors, and culture; for practitioners seeking to incorporate CAM perspectives into their work; and for policy makers in directing healthcare resources wisely.

J Clin Psychol. 2012 Aug 30. doi: 10.1002/jclp.21910. [Epub ahead of print] Park C. University of Connecticut.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In March 2009 I published Debunking the Subconscious Mind Fallacy. My seemingly heretical comments resulted in immediate requests for permission for redistribution of the article in newsletters circulated in North America and Europe. Additionally, a few of my close friends and highly respected colleagues have responded by writing rebuttals – some of which have appeared on this blog and in our weekly newsletter. Nevertheless, despite the notoriety, my ideas will continue to meet resistance and need further exposure if they are to move from relative obscurity and attain the level of debate warranted. Indeed, I still read and hear prominent medical, psychological, and hypnotherapy authorities touting the miraculous power of the subconscious mind without having any clue as to where the concept originated or realizing that it is totally bereft of any scientific rationale. This article is meant to continue exposing my conclusions, to clarify my original thoughts, and to at least partially assuage some of the misgivings of my detractors.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

Almost always when I see a person in a clinical situation, the obvious conclusion is that the presenting problem or issues involves prior decisions. However, while the wisdom of their choices – to include their awareness of relevant options – may indeed be part of the problem, I have increasingly come to the determination that the true nature of their concerns is not which decisions are being made but rather how they are made.

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The new bodymind theory describes unity of body and mind as a quantum process, which can go back to embryonic period of life. Authors have worked out tandem hypnotherapy method regarding bodymind theory. Tandem has two meanings: (1) a multi-seater bicycle, (2) a mosaic word: Touch of Ancient and New generations with a Dialogue Experiencing Oneness of Minds (TANDEM). Hypnotherapy, psychodrama, family therapy, Hellinger's systemic-phenomenological approach, and, the holding-therapy can be viewed as precedents of the method. More than two persons in a physical closeness touching each other take part in therapy: (1) patient(s), (2) one or more co-therapists; one or more antagonists (in the latter case is of hypnodrama), (3) therapist, who is responsible to take the tandem of patient(s) and co-therapist(s) to trance, while (s)he keeps distance securing neutrality. The method will be illustrated with some case-vignettes. Discussion: Sensory-motor level of development is supposed by the authors as stemmed from fetal period of life. It is suggested to be paralled to associative mode of experiencing, in which object and subject can't be viewed as differenciated from each other resulting unity or oneness experience. The most effective stimulus of associative mode of experiencing is regarded to be physical closeness and touching, which are seen in intimate situations. That is the reason why fundamental rules of therapeutic touching are to be kept. The new method can be viewed as a form of bodypsychotherapy having possibilities to resolve pathological consequences of either fetal or intergenerational traumas.

Psychiatr Hung. 2012;27(3):157-64. [Article in Hungarian] Vas P J, Császár N. Borsod-A-Z. Megyei Korhaz es Egyetemi Oktato Korhaz Pszichoterapiai Rehabilitacios Osztaly, Miskolc, Hungary. nyelvmuhely.bt@upcmail.hu

by Tim Brunson PhD

Just a few years ago several of my colleagues and I were enthralled as Robert Otto gave us his normally charismatic pep talk concerning the wonderful powers of the "subconscious mind." As a well-trained and experienced advocate of hypnotherapy, he was faithfully following a tradition rooted in the works of Sigmund Freud and further expounded by other greats such as Ormond McGill, Milton H. Erickson, and David Elman. Nevertheless, I am proposing the heretical stance that our profession's fascination with the concept of the "subconscious mind" has retarded the acceptance of hypnosis and hypnotherapy as valid for clinical applications. This well-traveled path may have turned into a rut which we must transcend.

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Full title: 'Looking as little like patients as persons well could': hypnotism, medicine and the problem of the suggestible subject in late nineteenth-century Britain.

During the late nineteenth century, many British physicians rigorously experimented with hypnosis as a therapeutic practice. Despite mounting evidence attesting to its wide-ranging therapeutic uses publicised in the 1880s and 1890s, medical hypnosis remained highly controversial. After a decade and a half of extensive medical discussion and debate surrounding the adoption of hypnosis by mainstream medical professionals - including a thorough inquiry organised by the British Medical Association - it was decisively excluded from serious medical consideration by 1900. This essay examines the complex question of why hypnosis was excluded from professional medical practice by the end of the nineteenth century. Objections to its medical adoption rarely took issue with its supposed effectiveness in producing genuine therapeutic and anaesthetic results. Instead, critics' objections were centred upon a host of social and moral concerns regarding the patient's state of suggestibility and weakened 'will-power' while under the physician's hypnotic 'spell'. The problematic question of precisely how far hypnotic 'rapport' and suggestibility might depart from the Victorian liberal ideal of rational individual autonomy lay at the heart of these concerns. As this essay demonstrates, the hypnotism debate was characterised by a tension between physicians' attempts to balance their commitment to restore patients to health and pervasive middle-class concerns about the rapid and ongoing changes transforming British society at the turn of the century.

Med Hist. 2012 Jul;56(3):335-54. Chettiar T. Department of History, Northwestern University, 1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208-2220, USA.

The authors tested fluctuation analyses (DFA) of EEGs upon auditory stimulation in waking and hypnotic states as related to topography and hypnotizability. They administered the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP), Dissociation Experience Scale, and Tellegen Absorption Scale to 10 healthy volunteers and measured subjects' EEGs while the subjects listened to sounds, either selecting or ignoring tones of different decibels, in waking and hypnotic states. DFA scaling exponents were closest to 0.5 when subjects reported the tones in the hypnotic state. Different DFA values at C3 showed significant positive correlations with the HIP eye-roll sign. Adding to the literature supporting the state theory of hypnosis, the DFA values at F3 and C3 showed significant differences between waking and hypnotic states. Application of auditory stimuli is useful for understanding neurophysiological characteristics of hypnosis using DFA.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2012 Jul;60(3):266-85. Lee JS, Koo BH. KARF Hospital, Gyunggi, Republic of Korea.

Studies in economic decision-making have demonstrated that individuals appreciate social values supporting equity and disapprove unfairness when distributing goods between two or more parties. However, this seems to critically depend on psychological mechanisms partly pertaining to the ingroup-outgroup distinction. Little is known as to what extent economic bargaining can be manipulated by means of psychological interventions such has hypnosis. Here we show that a hypnotic ingroup versus outgroup suggestion impacts the tolerance of unfairness in an Ultimatum Game. Specifically, the ingroup suggestion was associated with significantly greater acceptance rates of unfair offers than the outgroup suggestion, whereas hypnosis alone exerted only small effects on unfairness tolerance. These findings indicate that psychological interventions such as hypnotic suggestion can contribute to ingroup favoritism and outgroup rejection.

Conscious Cogn. 2012 Jun;21(2):939-46 Brüne M, Tas C, Wischniewski J, Welpinghus A, Heinisch C, Newen A. Research Department of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Cognitive Evolution, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.

Hypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes usually induced by a procedure known as hypnotic induction. In order to provide the basic physiological conditions for potentially successful hypnosis treatment of medical and psychological problems, the determination of a subject's hypnotizability level is important. Currently, the hypnotizability level is determined using different standard subjective tests. To avoid the different drawbacks of these subjective clinical tests, a practical objective method based on the correlation between electroencephalograph (EEG) phase synchronization and hypnosis susceptibility levels is presented in this study. This method can be used by clinicians instead of the traditional subjective methods to classify hypnotizability level. Thirty-two subjects with different hypnosis susceptibility levels contributed to this research. Using statistical analyses, it was concluded that, in highly hypnotizable people, the EEG phase synchronization between different paired channels, located on the frontal lobe, is significantly different from that in subjects with medium or low hypnotizability.

Med Eng Technol. 2012 May;36(4):222-9. Epub 2012 Mar 23. Baghdadi G, Nasrabadi AM. Biomedical Engineering Department, Shahed University, Across Emam Khomeini Holy Shrine, Persian Gulf Highway, Tehran, Iran.

In the present study, the authors factor-analyzed responses from 1,141 American undergraduate students to the Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Hypnosis-Client Version. They obtained an 8-factor solution accounting for 66% of the total variance in responses. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable fit of their model and those reported earlier by Carvalho et al. (2007) and Capafons, Mendoza, et al. (2008) using Portuguese and international samples, respectively. Unlike previous factor analyses of the scale, the authors obtained an independent clusters solution. Distinctions between the authors' model and those reported previously are discussed.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2012 Jan;54(3):167-78. Green JP, Houts CR, Capafons A. The Ohio State University at Lima, 4240 Campus Drive, Lima, OH 45804, USA. green.301@osu.edu

The Attitudes Toward Hypnosis Questionnaire (ATHQ) is a 14-item, self-report measure of positive versus negative attitudes about hypnosis. It is composed of three subscales identified via factor analysis: Positive Beliefs, Fearlessness, and Mental Stability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the generalizability of the original factor structure of the ATHQ and to provide normative data based on a large sample of 925 introductory psychology students. Internal consistency analysis and factor analysis did not support the scale's original factor structure. Accordingly, it is recommended that the subscales be abandoned and that the 14 items of the ATHQ be utilized as a unidimensional scale. Although attitudes toward hypnosis have been described as an important determinant of hypnotic responding, there has been very little research evaluating this association. If employed as a unidimensional scale, the ATHQ could be a very useful tool in future studies on this topic.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2012 Jan;54(3):202-12. Milling LS. University of Hartford, Department of Psychology, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117, USA. milling@hartford.edu

Erratum in Am J Clin Hypn. 2012 Apr;54(4):373.

Enhancing safety in hypnosis workshops is an issue of significant concern in the progress and promulgation of hypnosis as a facilitator of treatment. In general, hypnosis is a safe modality, but occasional adverse effects are encountered in its use in clinical, research, and professional workshop settings. To develop and implement modifications designed to reduce the number and/or severity of such unfortunate incidents in workshop settings, it is necessary to establish an awareness of the nature and implications of these adverse events. This article describes 9 categories of problem presentations known to have been generated in workshop settings. It also discusses a particular constellation of factors that--without imputing blame to either faculty or to workshop participants--creates powerful forces that minimize the likelihood that adverse effects will either be recognized by faculty or reported by workshop participants.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2012 Jan;54(3):213-32. Kluft RP. Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. rpkluft@aol.com

Full title: Altered and asymmetric default mode network activity in a "hypnotic virtuoso": an fMRI and EEG study.

Very highly hypnotizable subjects are rare, easily induced, and able to manifest the whole spectrum of hypnotic phenomena, including post-hypnotic amnesia. The aim of this study was to detect and localize by means of quantitative functional MRI and EEG changes in cortical activity during hypnosis induction and deep "pure hypnosis" in a hypnotic "virtuoso" subject. We focused on areas forming the default mode network (DMN), since previous studies found that very highly suggestible subjects in hypnosis showed decreased activity in anterior DMN. During undisturbed hypnosis, our "virtuoso" subject showed not only detectable changes in DMN, but also peculiar activations of non-DMN areas and hemispheric asymmetries of frontal lobe connectivity. Our findings confirm that hypnosis is associated with significant modulation of connectivity and activity which involve the DMN but are not limited to it, depending on the depth of the hypnotic state, the type of mental content and emotional involvement.

Conscious Cogn. 2012 Mar;21(1):393-400. Lipari S, Baglio F, Griffanti L, Mendozzi L, Garegnani M, Motta A, Cecconi P, Pugnetti L. Department of Radiology, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy.

Full title: An investigation of Taiwanese norms for the Stanford hypnotic susceptibility scale: form C (Mandarin Chinese translation).

This study establishes normative data for the Mandarin Chinese Translation of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C-MCT). Fourteen administrators gave the SHSS:C-MCT as well as demographic and meditation questionnaires to 322 participants of Taiwanese nationality. Score distributions, normality, internal consistency, item difficulty, and comparisons with other SHSS:C samples are presented. Scores on the SHSS:C-MCT were compared to both demographic and meditation practice data. The psychometric properties of the SHSS:C-MCT were found to be similar to those of other samples, and the Taiwanese mean score was found to be higher than most other samples, providing support for continued and expanded use of hypnosis in relative treatment applications in Taiwan.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2012 Apr;60(2):160-74. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2012.648062. Roark JB, Barabasz AF, Barabasz M, Lin-Roark IH. University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7410, USA. jeremy.roark@sa.ucsb.edu

by Tim Brunson, PhD

No other field so completely, overtly, and explicitly uses the power of suggestion as does hypnotherapy. Yet although the term is frequently used by practitioners – including the general public and those who use hypnosis for other purposes – when challenged, I sincerely doubt that the presumptive user could adequately explain it. Even popular dictionaries fail to give explanations of substantive relevance. Implying – or may I say suggesting – that a suggestion is merely an idea or proposal that may be considered does little to clarify how a verbal, physical, or mental act could influence a future action or state and thus precipitate a transformative experience.

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Debate regarding the neural basis of the hypnotic state continues, but a recent hypothesis suggests that it may produce alterations in the default mode network (DMN). DMN describes a network of brain regions more active during low-demand compared to high-demand task conditions and has been linked to processes such as task-independent thinking, episodic memory, semantic processing, and self-awareness. However, the experiential and cognitive correlates of DMN remain difficult to investigate directly. Using hypnosis as a means of altering the resting ("default") state in conjunction with subjective measures and brain imaging, the authors found that the state of attentional absorption following a hypnotic induction was associated with reduced activity in DMN and increased activity in prefrontal attentional systems, under invariant conditions of passive visual stimulation. The findings that hypnosis and spontaneous conceptual thought at rest were subjectively and neurally distinctive are also relevant to understanding hypnosis itself.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2012 Apr;60(2):206-28. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2012.648070. Deeley Q, Oakley DA, Toone B, Giampietro V, Brammer MJ, Williams SC, Halligan PW. Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, United Kingdom. q.deeley@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Abstract The present study examined responses on the Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Hypnosis-Client (VSABTH-C) version among a sample of American college students (N?=?448) and explored the relationship between VSABTH-C factor scores and measures of hypnotizability, fantasy proneness, and absorption. Scores across three factors (i.e., help, interest, and marginal factors) accounted for 12% of the variance in responsiveness to suggestions administered from the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. Normative data on the VSABTH-C factors by hypnotizability level and individual VSABTH-C item factor loadings are provided.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2012 Apr;60(2):229-40. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2012.648073. Green JP. The Ohio State University, Lima, OH 45804, USA. green.301@osu.edu

Hypnosis is increasingly being employed in therapy of neurologically impaired patients. In fact, reports from neuropsychological practice point out that neurological patients with a loss of motor abilities achieve successful rehabilitation by means of motor imagery during hypnosis. This approach was shown to be effective even if the patients' ability to imagine movements was impaired or lost. The underlying mechanisms of "how" and "where" hypnosis affects the brain, however, are largely unknown. To identify the brain areas involved in motor imagery under hypnosis, we conducted an fMRI study in which we required healthy human subjects either to imagine or to execute repetitive finger movements during a hypnotic trance. We observed fMRI-signal increases exclusively related to hypnosis in the left superior frontal cortex, the left anterior cingulate gyrus and left thalamus. While the superior frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate were active related more to movement performance than to imagery, the thalamus was activated only during motor imagery. These areas represent central nodes of the salience network linking primary and higher motor areas. Therefore, our data substantiate the notion that hypnosis enhances motor imagery.

Behav Brain Res. 2012 May 16;231(1):164-9 Müller K, Bacht K, Schramm S, Seitz RJ. Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Moorenstr. 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany. katharina.mueller@uni-duesseldorf.de

Two experiments investigated the reality attributed to hypnotic suggestion through subtle projection of a visual image during simultaneous suggestion for a visual hallucination that resembled the projected image. In Experiment 1, high and low hypnotizable participants were administered either a hypnotic induction or wake instructions, given a suggestion to hallucinate a shape, and then the projected image was subsequently introduced. Although highs in both conditions rated the projected image more vividly than lows, highs in the hypnosis (but not wake) condition made comparable reality ratings when the projected image was absent and present. In Experiment 2, high hypnotizable participants were administered a suggestion to see a shape on a wall. For half the participants the suggested image was projected on the wall and then removed, and for half the projection was initially absent and then introduced. Participants who had the projection absent and then present reported comparable reality and vividness ratings when the projection was absent and present. These findings indicate that elevated hypnotizability and hypnosis are associated with attributions of external reality to suggested experiences.

Conscious Cogn. 2003 Jun;12(2):219-30