title: Pain-reduction strategies in hypnotic context and hypnosis: ERPs and SCRs during a secondary auditory task.
abstract: Pain-rating scores were obtained from 10 high, 10 medium, and 10 low hypnotizable subjects who were holding a painful cold bottle in their left hands and were exposed to pain reduction treatments while they were performing a secondary oddball task. All subjects received suggestions of dissociative imagery and focused analgesia as cognitive strategies for pain reduction. The following measures were obtained for tone targets of the auditory oddball task: (a) reaction time; (b) P300 peak amplitude of the event-related potentials; (c) skin conductance levels and skin conductance responses. Focused analgesia produced the most pain reduction in high, but not medium or low, hypnotizable subjects who showed shorter reaction times, higher central and parietal P300 peaks, and higher skin conductance responses. These findings were discussed vis-a-vis the dissociated-control model assuming that capacity demands of hypnotic suggestion are low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Rome, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. v.depascalis@caspur.it
authors.forename: Vilfredo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Pascalis
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellusci
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Magurano
authors.forename: Andrew C N
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006990:Hypnosis; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011930:Reaction Time