The neuropsychological status of pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, commonly categorized as 'psychosomatic' or 'functional' disorders, remains controversial. Activation of brain structures dependent upon subjective alterations of fibromyalgia pain experience could provide an insight into the underlying neuropsychological processes. Suggestion following a hypnotic induction can readily modula...

Fractal analysis was applied to study the trends of EEG signals in the hypnotic condition. The subjects were 19 psychiatric outpatients. Hypnotizability was measured with the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP). Fifty-four sets of EEG data were analyzed by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), a well-established fractal analysis technique. The scaling exponents, which are the results of fractal an...

Recent meta-analyses have shown that adding hypnosis enhances the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. This hypnotic enhancement effect was evaluated in the analogue treatment of pain. Individuals scoring in the high (n = 135) and low (n = 150) ranges of hypnotic suggestibility were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 conditions: Stress Inoculation Training, the same treatment provided ...

Data relating to the use of hypnotic medicines from a descriptive epidemiological study of drug use in 55 residential homes for elderly people were analysed. Of the 1888 residents included in the study, 435 (23.0%) were receiving a total of 448 hypnotic medicines. There was preferential prescribing of short-acting benzodiazepines but long-acting benzodiazepines represented 31.7% of all hypnotic...

Neglect patients are not aware of stimuli in the contralesional space. We aimed to simulate neglect-like behaviour in healthy participants, by asking them to orient their visuospatial attention in two conditions: non-hypnotic suggestion and post-hypnotic suggestion. Results showed that directing visuospatial attention to one side of space caused neglect of stimuli in the opposite side of space,...

The extent to which hypnotic suggestions are perceived as real is central to understanding hypnotic response. This study indexed 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. Twenty real hypnotized and 20 simulating nonhypnotized participants were administere...

3 variables drawn from role theory were investigated as predictors of hypnotic responsiveness: congruence of self and role (assessed by questionnaire); role expectations (assessed by questionnaire); and role-taking aptitude (drama students vs. science students). 168 Ss (78 drama students, 91 science students) were administered the 2 questionnaires and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Suscept...

Hypnotherapeutic interactions can be mapped on a continuum from formal hypnosis to hypnotic conversation. Unlike the structured forms of formal hypnosis, hypnotic conversation relies upon utilizing the client's responses, both verbal and non-verbal, to facilitate therapeutic process. In this paper, we illustrate this continuum with a series of anecdotal clinical examples starting with formal hy...

H susceptibility is a measured by how easily a person can be hypnotized (2). There are several types of scales used; among all of them, the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS) (3,4,5) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales (SHSS) (4,5) are the most common (6). Both of the Standard scales and Harvard scales are connected to the traditional perspective of hypnosis. The...

In Phase I of the investigation, 70 5s were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: hypnotic induction, instructions to simulate hypnosis, or imagination control. All 5s were assessed on Orne's two indexes of trance logic (the transparent hallucination and the double hallucination). The imagination controls consistently showed trance logic as often as the hypnotic Ss. Depending upon the ...