Hypnosis is associated with profound changes in conscious thought, experience and behaviour and has a long clinical and experimental history. Data on the nature and role of hypnotic induction procedures is still somewhat lacking however, and probably the only thing one can say about them with any conviction is that they enhance suggestibility in some cases. Nevertheless, a review and re-analyse...

BACKGROUND Many studies show an effectiveness of hypnotic analgesia. It has been discussed whether the analgesic effect is mainly caused by the relaxation that is concomitant to hypnosis. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of hypnotic relaxation suggestion on different somatosensory detection and pain thresholds. METHODS Quantitative sensory testing (QST) measurements were perfor...

Two studies investigated the effect of hypnotic susceptibility (study 1) and the label ‘hypnosis’ (study 2) on the perception of a noxious stimulus (cold pressor). Suggestions for pain control during hypnosis are highly effective but the mechanisms of this effect and the role of the hypnotic induction in achieving pain relief remain uncertain. Study 1 demonstrated increasing pain experience wit...

A theory of hypnosis based mainly on principles of conditioning and inhibition is proposed, covering the hypnotic induction process, hypnotic phenomena and post-hypnotic phenomena. The overall explanation presented is delineated in a set of three initial postulates and seven subsequent hypotheses. Hypnotic induction is defined as the giving of a series of suggestions so that a positive response...

Dexmedetomidine (Dex), an alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist, is an effective analgesic and sedative drug in adults; however, little information is available about its efficacy in pediatric populations. Some anesthetics exhibit an age-dependent analgesic effect, e.g., nitrous oxide, being relatively ineffective in newborn rats. We investigated the analgesic and hypnotic efficacy of Dex using 6 cohor...

This experimental study examined 2 questions: (a) Does the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) tap the "classic suggestion effect" and (b) does the wording of postexperimental questions bias subjective reports of hypnotic subjects? Results indicated that a significant minority of individuals who "passed" test suggestions by objective behavioral criteria reported per...

The ability to enhance sensitivity to relevant (post)hypnotic suggestions has implications for creating clinically informed analogues of psychological and neuropsychological conditions and for the use of hypnotic interventions in psychological and medical conditions. The aim of the present study was to test the effect of oxytocin inhalation on a post-hypnotic suggestion that previously has been...

BACKGROUND This study sought to determine whether trazodone used in hypnotic doses, compared to the hypnotic agent zopiclone, had any specific positive effect on sexual function in non-depressive post-menopausal women with insomnia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Fifty (50) subjects participated in the study. Insomnia and sexual performance were evaluated before and after 4 weeks of hypnotic treatment....

GABA(A) receptors have been implicated in mediating several acute effects of ethanol including anxiolysis, ataxia, sedation/hypnosis, and anticonvulsant activity. Ethanol sensitivity of neurons has been associated with expression of alpha1 subunit-containing receptors. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of alpha1 subunit containing receptors to ethanol responses in co...