Brain activity ‘real’ during hypnosis

[Posted: Mon 16/11/2009 by Olivia Fens]

Hypnosis is very real and can be seen on brain scans, a new study has found.

Although the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently approved hypnosis for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, there is still a great deal of scepticism about whether there really is a hypnotic state.

Previous hypnosis studies required participants to do a task and researchers look at their brain activity during this time.

In this study however, participants’ brain activity was monitored in the rest periods between each task.

This is the first time a hypnosis study has investigated brain activity in this manner – studying participants in rest whilst they are not performing any particular task, the researchers from the University of Hull in the UK said.

Brain activity was also scanned without the hypnotic induction so that the resting states in and out of hypnosis could be compared.

The study found that hypnosis decreased activity in areas of the brain that support the so-called ‘default mode’ network. Activity in this network generally occurs when people are resting, day dreaming or letting their minds wander.

“These results are unequivocal; the changes in anterior brain activity observed in our study occurred only in highly suggestible subjects, those most open to the idea of hypnosis. By contrast, no changes in brain activity were detected in these areas in the low suggestible subjects. This shows that the changes were due to hypnosis and not just simple relaxation,” the researchers said.

“Our study shows that hypnosis is real; it corresponds to a unique pattern of brain activation which was not observed in any other experimental condition and was not seen in people who were not hypnotisable.”

The study was published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.