Hypnosis is Finally Being Studied by the Scientific Community

Despite hypnosis having been around for hundreds of years, modern psychotherapy has largely overlooked it.

Science tends to avoid what it cannot fully understand, prove, or replicate within measurable parameters. The mystery surrounding hypnosis, combined with concerns about its potential misuse, has kept it largely unexamined by the scientific community.

However, a team at Stanford University School of Medicine has been conducting numerous studies on hypnosis and hypnotherapy in recent years, yielding results that begin to explain what many clinical practitioners have long observed in sessions.

"Hypnosis is a very powerful means of changing the way we use our minds to control perception and our bodies." David Spiegel, MD, Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University

Exploring the Science of Hypnosis

One of the first studies by this team, conducted in 2015/2016, used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to track which parts of the brain activate, connect, deactivate, and change during hypnosis.

The study revealed three key changes in brain activity.

1. A Decrease in the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate (dACC)

The MRI data showed a decrease in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC), part of the brain's salience network.

The dACC is involved in monitoring the environment and social interactions. It plays a role in decision-making, behavioural adjustments, and anxiety, particularly in determining what deserves our attention and what can be ignored.

This region is highly active in individuals with anxiety, distraction issues, and heightened environmental monitoring. A decrease in dACC activity may explain the switching off and letting go state of hypnosis, allowing for increased suggestibility.

Interestingly, the dACC also has direct connections to the spinal cord and hypothalamus, suggesting its involvement in autonomic control, the regulation of muscles, glands, and hormones.

2. Increased Connectivity Between the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (dlPFC) and the Insula

The MRI scans also showed increased connectivity between the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (dlPFC) and the Insula, described by researchers as a "brain-body connection that helps the brain process and control what's going on in the body."

The dlPFC is involved in cognitive processing, self-control, and thoughtful behaviour. When functioning well, it contributes to positive mood, healthy responses to the environment, and emotional regulation.

The Insula is thought to be an integration centre, connecting our external environment, internal processing, and behaviour. It plays a fundamental role in shaping our sense of self, coordinating the cycle of experience, emotion, thought, belief, and motivation.

The Insula is also involved in pain processing, which may explain why hypnosis is used successfully for pain management.

Abnormal connectivity between the dlPFC and the Insula has been extensively studied in relation to depression.

A 2021 study found that reduced connectivity between these areas correlates with the progression of depression, while increased connectivity is observed during recovery.

A 2020 study highlighted how strengthening this connection improves insomnia, somatic symptoms including pain, and anxiety in individuals with major depressive disorder.

3. Reduced Connectivity Between the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (dlPFC) and the Default Mode Network (DMN)

Finally, MRI scans showed reduced connectivity between the dlPFC and the Default Mode Network (DMN).

The DMN is associated with self-referential thinking, moral judgement, and high-focus states. It is highly active when we reflect on ourselves and others but decreases during meditation, mindfulness, and states of deep relaxation, all of which are linked to suggestibility.

In hypnosis, reduced connectivity between the dlPFC and the DMN may enhance neuroplasticity, creating an optimal state for rewiring the brain and adopting new thought patterns.

This temporary disassociation between action and self-awareness allows individuals to act on suggestions, whether clinician-guided or self-directed, without overanalysing them. The person follows the suggestion rather than questioning the ifs and whys.

It is notable that these neural connections, linked to mental wellbeing, are shown to be active during hypnosis.

In Summary

• This study reinforces the idea that hypnosis induces a distinct state of consciousness, not just deep relaxation.
• Brain changes indicate a true switching off and letting go state, opening the mind to increased suggestibility and positive change.
• Hypnosis enhances brain-body connections, helping the brain process and control the body via the spinal cord, hypothalamus, and autonomic nervous system. It also activates regions involved in pain reduction.
• Brain regions responsible for positive mood, emotional regulation, and self-perception connect in ways that may encourage reframing of negative experiences and foster positive outcomes.
• Brain connectivity patterns associated with recovery from depression, anxiety, pain, and insomnia are observed to be active during hypnosis, suggesting a potential neurological basis for its therapeutic applications.
• The brain enters a state associated with neuroplasticity, meaning new thought patterns and behavioural changes may become more deeply embedded.

A Note on Where the Research Is Heading

This research helps us understand how hypnosis may prime the brain and body for positive, lasting change, something clinical hypnotherapists have observed in practice for many years.

It is gratifying to see rigorous research beginning to illuminate what clinical practitioners have observed for years: that hypnosis appears to create measurable, meaningful changes in the brain.

Sources:

 Study on Hypnotic Brain Activity - Cerebral Cortex (2017)
 Stanford Medicine - Brain Areas Altered During Hypnotic Trances
 Neuroscientific Review on Depression & Brain Connectivity (2021)
 Connectivity & Insomnia Study (2020)
 Hypnosis & Brain Connectivity Research (2017)