International Hypnosis Research Institute - Learning and Memory

Hypnotizability and Performance on a Prism Adaptation Test.

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 11:51:00 -0500

The susceptibility to hypnosis, which can be measured by scales, is not merely a cognitive trait. In fact, it is associated with a number of physiological correlates in the ordinary state of consciousness and in the absence of suggestions. The hypnotizability-related differences observed in sensorimotor integration suggested a major role of the cerebellum in the peculiar performance of healthy subjects with high scores of hypnotic susceptibility (highs). In order to provide behavioral evidence of this hypothesis, we submitted 20 highs and 21 low hypnotizable participants (lows) to the classical cerebellar Prism Adaptation Test (PAT). We found that the highs' performance was significantly less accurate and more variable than the lows' one, even though the two groups shared the same characteristics of adaptation to prismatic lenses. Although further studies are required to interpret these findings, they could account for earlier reports of hypnotizability-related differences in postural control and blink rate, as they indicate that hypnotizability influences the cerebellar control of sensorimotor integration. Cerebellum. 2015 Apr 26. Menzocchi M(1), Mecacci G, Zeppi A, Carli G, Santarcangelo EL. Author information: (1)Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Acute Effects of Online Mind-Body Skills Training on Resilience, Mindfulness, and Empathy.

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 11:55:00 -0500

BACKGROUND: Some studies have begun to show benefits of brief in-person mind-body skills training. We evaluated the effects of 1-hour online elective mind-body skills training for health professionals on mindfulness, resilience, and empathy. METHODS: Between May and November, 2014, we described enrollees for the most popular 1-hour modules in a new online mind-body skills training program; compared enrollees' baseline stress and burnout to normative samples; and assessed acute changes in mindfulness, resilience, and empathy. RESULTS: The 513 enrollees included dietitians, nurses, physicians, social workers, clinical trainees, and health researchers; about 1/4 were trainees. The most popular modules were the following: Introduction to Stress, Resilience, and the Relaxation Response (n = 261); Autogenic Training (n = 250); Guided Imagery and Hypnosis for Pain, Insomnia, and Changing Habits (n = 112); Introduction to Mindfulness (n = 112); and Mindfulness in Daily Life (n = 102). Initially, most enrollees met threshold criteria for burnout and reported moderate to high stress levels. Completing 1-hour modules was associated with significant acute improvements in stress (P < .001), mindfulness (P < .001), empathy (P = .01), and resilience (P < .01). CONCLUSION: Online mind-body skills training reaches diverse, stressed health professionals and is associated with acute improvements in stress, mindfulness, empathy, and resilience. Additional research is warranted to compare the long-term cost-effectiveness of different doses of online and in-person mind-body skills training for health professionals. © The Author(s) 2015. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2015 Mar 17. pii: 2156587215575816. Kemper KJ(1), Khirallah M(2). Author information: (1)The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA kathi.kemper@osumc.edu. (2)Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and The Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.

Hypnosis-induced mental training improves performance on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery...

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 11:50:00 -0500

Full title: Hypnosis-induced mental training improves performance on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) simulator. BACKGROUND: Mental training (MT) is used extensively by musicians and athletes to improve their performance. Recently, it has been suggested as a training method for surgical trainees. We assessed the influence of MT, induced by hypnosis, on the performance of simulated tasks on a laparoscopic simulator, as compared to a non-specific relaxing intervention. METHODS: 11 surgeons completed a proficiency-based training program on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) simulator, until they reached performance plateau of the peg transfer task. Thereafter, they received a single music session, as a relaxing intervention, followed by repeating of the peg transfer task. Then they went through a hypnosis session guided by an experienced psychologist, with suggestions of smooth flow of pegs from one position on the board to another, and re-performed the task. RESULTS: Plateau performance was 51.1 ± 6.9 s. After the music session performance improved by 6.3% to 47.9 ± 5.4 s (p = 0.86). After the MT session performance further improved by 15.3% to 40.1 ± 5.8 s (p = 0.009), which was a 21.6% improvement from baseline (p < 0.001). Subject's satisfaction from their performance, without knowledge of the task scores, was 6.0 ± 2.9 on 0-10 VAS after the music and reached as high as 8.5 ± 1.7 after the hypnotic session (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Hypnosis-induced MT significantly improves performance on the FLS simulator, which cannot be attributed to its relaxing qualities alone. This study contributes evidence to the effectiveness of MT in surgical skills acquisition and suggests that hypnotic techniques should be used in mental preparation processes. There is a need to further study these effects on operating room performance. Surg Endosc. 2015 May;29(5):1024-9. doi: 10.1007/s00464-014-3786-1. Epub 2014 Oct 11. Sroka G(1), Arnon Z, Laniado M, Schiff E, Matter I. Author information: (1)Department of General Surgery, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, 47 Golomb Street, Haifa, Israel, gideon.sroka@gmail.com.

A hypnotic analogue of clinical confabulation.

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 11:40:00 -0500

Confabulation-fabricated or distorted memories about oneself-occurs in many disorders, but there is no reliable technique for investigating it in the laboratory. The authors used hypnosis to model clinical confabulation by giving subjects a suggestion for either (a) amnesia for everything that had happened since they started university, (b) amnesia for university plus an instruction to fill in memory gaps, or (c) confusion about the temporal order of university events. They then indexed different types of memory on a confabulation battery. The amnesia suggestion produced the most confabulation, especially for personal semantic information. Notably, subjects confabulated by making temporal confusions. The authors discuss the theoretical implications of this first attempt to model clinical confabulation and the potential utility of such analogues. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015 Jul-Sep;63(3):249-73. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2015.1031037. Cox RE(1), Barnier AJ. Author information: (1)a Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.

Creating past-life identity in hypnotic regression.

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 11:37:00 -0500

To examine the role of hypnotic suggestion in identity in past-life regression, 2 experiments were conducted at the request of Korea's major national television companies. A real historical person and a fictional character were selected as past-life identities. After hypnotic induction, a past-life regression suggestion was given. While counting backward to past-life, the suggestion of a specific identity was interspersed 3 times. In 5 of 6 subjects, the same past-life identity that had been suggested was produced, with relatively rich content accompanied by emotional and historical facts identical to the suggested identity. This study found that it was quite simple and easy to manipulate past-life identity. The role of suggestion in the formation of past-life memories during hypnosis is crucial. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015 Jul-Sep;63(3):365-72. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2015.1031557. Pyun YD(1). Author information: (1)a Pyun Neuropsychiatric Clinic , Seoul , South Korea.

Memory formation during anaesthesia: plausibility of a neurophysiological basis.

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 12:10:00 -0500

As opposed to conscious, personally relevant (explicit) memories that we can recall at will, implicit (unconscious) memories are prototypical of 'hidden' memory; memories that exist, but that we do not know we possess. Nevertheless, our behaviour can be affected by these memories; in fact, these memories allow us to function in an ever-changing world. It is still unclear from behavioural studies whether similar memories can be formed during anaesthesia. Thus, a relevant question is whether implicit memory formation is a realistic possibility during anaesthesia, considering the underlying neurophysiology. A different conceptualization of memory taxonomy is presented, the serial parallel independent model of Tulving, which focuses on dynamic information processing with interactions among different memory systems rather than static classification of different types of memories. The neurophysiological basis for subliminal information processing is considered in the context of brain function as embodied in network interactions. Function of sensory cortices and thalamic activity during anaesthesia are reviewed. The role of sensory and perisensory cortices, in particular the auditory cortex, in support of memory function is discussed. Although improbable, with the current knowledge of neurophysiology one cannot rule out the possibility of memory formation during anaesthesia. Br J Anaesth. 2015 Mar 3. pii: aev035. Veselis RA1. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved.

Hypnotizability, not suggestion, influences false memory development.

Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:03:00 -0500

Abstract Hypnotizability influences the development of false memories. In Experiment 1, participants heard a positive or negative suggestion regarding hypnosis and then listened to 8 Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm lists in a hypnotic state. Neither hypnosis nor prehypnotic suggestion affected memory. Highly hypnotizable participants were more accurate in recall and recognition. In Experiment 2, suggestions were delivered in the form of feedback. Participants heard a positive or negative suggestion about their performance prior to either the encoding or retrieval of 8 DRM lists. Neither accurate nor false memories were affected by the suggestion. Highly hypnotizable individuals recognized fewer critical lures if they received a negative suggestion about their performance. These results highlight the unusual role of hypnotizability in the creation of false memories. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(1):110-28. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.961880. Dasse MN(1), Elkins GR, Weaver CA 3rd. Author information: (1)a Baylor University , Waco , Texas , USA.

Suggestion overrides automatic audiovisual integration.

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 18:55:00 -0500

Cognitive scientists routinely distinguish between controlled and automatic mental processes. Through learning, practice, and exposure, controlled processes can become automatic; however, whether automatic processes can become deautomatized - recuperated under the purview of control - remains unclear. Here we show that a suggestion derails a deeply ingrained process involving involuntary audiovisual integration. We compared the performance of highly versus less hypnotically suggestible individuals (HSIs versus LSIs) in a classic McGurk paradigm - a perceptual illusion task demonstrating the influence of visual facial movements on auditory speech percepts. Following a posthypnotic suggestion to prioritize auditory input, HSIs but not LSIs manifested fewer illusory auditory perceptions and correctly identified more auditory percepts. Our findings demonstrate that a suggestion deautomatized a ballistic audiovisual process in HSIs. In addition to guiding our knowledge regarding theories and mechanisms of automaticity, the present findings pave the road to a more scientific understanding of top-down effects and multisensory integration. Conscious Cogn. 2014 Feb;24:33-7. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.12.010. Déry C(1), Campbell NK(1), Lifshitz M(1), Raz A(2). Author information: (1)McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada. (2)McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada; Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: amir.raz@mcgill.ca. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are the "memory wars" over? A scientist-practitioner gap in beliefs about repressed memory.

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:54:00 -0500

The "memory wars" of the 1990s refers to the controversy between some clinicians and memory scientists about the reliability of repressed memories. To investigate whether such disagreement persists, we compared various groups' beliefs about memory and compared their current beliefs with beliefs expressed in past studies. In Study 1, we found high rates of belief in repressed memory among undergraduates. We also found that greater critical-thinking ability was associated with more skepticism about repressed memories. In Study 2, we found less belief in repressed memory among mainstream clinicians today compared with the 1990s. Groups that contained research-oriented psychologists and memory experts expressed more skepticism about the validity of repressed memories relative to other groups. Thus, a substantial gap between the memory beliefs of clinical-psychology researchers and those of practitioners persists today. These results hold implications for the potential resolution of the science-practice gap and for the dissemination of memory research in the training of mental-health professionals. Psychol Sci. 2014 Feb;25(2):519-30. doi: 10.1177/0956797613510718. Patihis L(1), Ho LY, Tingen IW, Lilienfeld SO, Loftus EF. Author information: (1)1Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine.

Using suggestion to model different types of automatic writing.

Thu, 14 Aug 2014 13:49:00 -0500

Our sense of self includes awareness of our thoughts and movements, and our control over them. This feeling can be altered or lost in neuropsychiatric disorders as well as in phenomena such as "automatic writing" whereby writing is attributed to an external source. Here, we employed suggestion in highly hypnotically suggestible participants to model various experiences of automatic writing during a sentence completion task. Results showed that the induction of hypnosis, without additional suggestion, was associated with a small but significant reduction of control, ownership, and awareness for writing. Targeted suggestions produced a double dissociation between thought and movement components of writing, for both feelings of control and ownership, and additionally, reduced awareness of writing. Overall, suggestion produced selective alterations in the control, ownership, and awareness of thought and motor components of writing, thus enabling key aspects of automatic writing, observed across different clinical and cultural settings, to be modelled. Conscious Cogn. 2014 May;26:24-36. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2014.02.008. Walsh E(1), Mehta MA(2), Oakley DA(3), Guilmette DN(4), Gabay A(5), Halligan PW(6), Deeley Q(7). Author information: (1)King's College London, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. Electronic address: eamonn.walsh@kcl.ac.uk. (2)Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK; Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. (3)Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK; School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. (4)Stonehill College, Easton, MA, USA. (5)King's College London, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, SE5 8AF, UK. (6)School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. (7)King's College London, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Kings College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Do older adults change their eyewitness reports when re-questioned?

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 13:48:00 -0500

OBJECTIVES: This study examined how older adults responded to different types of pressure to change their responses when questioned a second time about their memory for a crime. METHOD: After watching a video of a crime and answering questions about remembered details, younger (18-22 years) and older adults (64-91 years) were either given negative feedback about their memory performance, were told that most people their age did poorly on the memory test (stereotype threat), or were simply asked to answer the questions again. This was done regardless of their actual accuracy, and the questions were then repeated. RESULTS: Results showed that both younger and older adults changed significantly more responses following negative feedback and changed more responses on misleading than on nonleading questions. Among older adults, as age increased, accuracy decreased and rate of response change increased. People were moderately confident overall about both their correct and incorrect responses. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the dangers of repeatedly questioning older witnesses with misleading questions and suggest that the responses that are changed may come to be remembered confidently-regardless of whether they are correct or incorrect. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 May;69(3):356-65. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbt071. Henkel LA. Author information: Correspondence should be addressed to Linda A. Henkel, Department of Psychology, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT 06824. E-mail: lhenkel@fairfield.edu.

Older adults have 'morning brains': Noticeable differences in brain function across the day

Thu, 07 Aug 2014 08:50:00 -0500

This article cites research that indicates that older people have improved cognitive performance early in the day. This is correlated with greater activation of the brain's attentional control regions, which are the rostral prefrontal and superior parietal cortex. The implications of this is that older adults should focus on more complex tasks earlier in the morning. Also, we believe that tasks such as reading (i.e. speed and comprehension) is greatly enhanced earlier in the day. It is also noteworthy that the mentioned neural substrates also have a direct role in the hypnotic process. Thus the further implication is that hypnosis, to include self-hypnosis, would be more productive in the earlier part of the day older adults. This is a hypothesis that should be studied further. Full article

Age differences in eyewitness memory for a realistic event.

Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:47:00 -0500

OBJECTIVES: To better understand the effects of misinformation on eyewitnesses of different ages, older and younger adults experienced an event under intentional and incidental learning conditions in a naturalistic experiment using multiple memory tests. METHOD: Following exposure to the event, which was a brief interruption of a group testing session, participants completed several memory tests. For half of the participants, misinformation was embedded in the first cued recall test. On subsequent free recall and cued recall tests, basic scores and misinformation-based memory errors were examined. RESULTS: As expected, younger adults had higher recall scores than older adults. Older and younger adults made the same number of misinformation errors in free recall and in cued recall with intentional learning. However, in the incidental condition, younger adults made more misinformation errors likely due to the information processing strategies they employed after incidental learning. DISCUSSION: Misinformation effects were quite strong, even with a realistic scene and intentional learning. Older adult suggestibility was no worse than that of younger adults. When misinformation was combined with incidental learning, younger adults may have used strategic processing to encode misinformation to their detriment. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 May;69(3):338-47. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbt014. West RL(1), Stone KR. Author information: (1)Correspondence should be addressed to Robin L. West, Department of Psychology, University of Florida, P. O. Box 112250, Gainesville, FL 32611. E-mail: west51@ufl.edu.

Intelligence, Learning, and Testing

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:04:00 -0500

by Tim Brunson PhD Intelligence is primarily a measure in one's ability to learn. The underlying theory of intelligence presumes that there are individual differences in the capability to use perception, memory, and learning. This article addresses the relevance of intelligence testing, its proper use in society (to include academic endeavors), and the roles of Gardner's multi-intelligence theory in our societal functioning. Together I see these issues as having scientific, philosophical and even religious/spiritual dimensions. Other than the utility and morality issues, the concept of static versus dynamic/changing intelligence must be discussed. [More]

The gestural misinformation effect: skewing eyewitness testimony through gesture.

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 18:39:00 -0500

The susceptibility of eyewitnesses to verbal suggestion has been well documented, although little attention has been paid to the role of nonverbal communication in misinformation. Three experiments are reported; in each, participants watched footage of a crime scene before being questioned about what they had observed. In Experiments 1 and 2, an on-screen interviewer accompanied identically worded questions with gestures that either conveyed accurate information about the scene or conveyed false, misleading information. The misleading gestures significantly influenced recall, and participants' responses were consistent with the gestured information. In Experiment 3, a live interview was conducted, and the gestural misinformation effect was found to be robust; participants were influenced by misleading gestures performed by the interviewer during questioning. These findings provide compelling evidence for the gestural misinformation effect, whereby subtle hand gestures can implant information and distort the testimony of eyewitnesses. The practical and legal implications of these findings are discussed. Am J Psychol. 2013 Fall;126(3):301-14. Gurney DJ, Pine KJ, Wiseman R. School of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK. D.Gurney2@Herts.ac.uk