title: Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Associated with Hypnosis.
abstract: Hypnosis has proven clinical utility, yet changes in brain activity underlying the hypnotic state have not yet been fully identified. Previous research suggests that hypnosis is associated with decreased default mode network (DMN) activity and that high hypnotizability is associated with greater functional connectivity between the executive control network (ECN) and the salience network (SN). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate activity and functional connectivity among these three networks in hypnosis. We selected 57 of 545 healthy subjects with very high or low hypnotizability using two hypnotizability scales. All subjects underwent four conditions in the scanner: rest, memory retrieval, and two different hypnosis experiences guided by standard pre-recorded instructions in counterbalanced order. Seeds for the ECN, SN, and DMN were left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), respectively. During hypnosis there was reduced activity in the dACC, increased functional connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC;ECN) and the insula in the SN, and reduced connectivity between the ECN (DLPFC) and the DMN (PCC). These changes in neural activity underlie the focused attention, enhanced somatic and emotional control, and lack of self-consciousness that characterizes hypnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.|Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Greicius
authors.affiliation: Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Waelde
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006990:Hypnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: brain activity; fMRI; functional connectivity; hypnosis; resting state