Experiment · 2017
Brain activity and functional connectivity associated with hypnosis
Listen instead of reading · 35 minDirty Mind: Dirty Talk Hypnosis – Find Your Own WordsNo script, no borrowed lines: a trance that lets your own words out – in a lower, slower voice. Jiang, H., White, M. P., Greicius, M. D., Waelde, L. C., & Spiegel, D. · Cerebral Cortex, 27(8), 4083–4093
Main finding
During hypnosis, highly hypnotizable participants showed reduced activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, stronger coupling between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula, and weaker coupling between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network.
What was done
Researchers at Stanford scanned highly and less hypnotizable adults with fMRI during rest, memory recall and hypnosis.
What the study does not show
The pattern describes group averages in one study. It is a candidate brain signature of the hypnotic state, not a test anyone can be diagnosed with.
Cite as
Jiang, H., White, M. P., Greicius, M. D., Waelde, L. C., & Spiegel, D. (2017). Brain activity and functional connectivity associated with hypnosis. Cerebral Cortex, 27(8), 4083–4093. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw220
Original paperRelated topics
- What happens in the brain during hypnosis? What brain imaging shows about hypnosis: anterior cingulate, prefrontal networks and the default mode network – and why there is no hypnosis centre.
- Is hypnosis a special state – or expectation at work? The oldest debate in hypnosis research – state or expectation? With Orne's simulators, Hilgard's hidden observer and Kirsch's expectancy theory.
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