The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic effects of hypnotic pain control on experimental pain by measuring pupil reactions as an objective psycho-physiologic parameter. Twenty-two healthy volunteers (11 female and 11 male) aged between 22 and 35 years participated in the study. Pupil diameter was measured as baseline measurement (i.e., static measurement) in the non-hypnotic and ...

One approach to hypnosis suggests that for hypnotic experience to occur frontal lobe activity must be attenuated. For example, cold control theory posits that a lack of awareness of intentions is responsible for the experience of involuntariness and/or the subjective reality of hypnotic suggestions. The mid-dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex and the ACC are candidate regions for such awareness. Al...

Procedures for estimating hypnotic depth have been used for more than 70 years. This study predicted self-reported hypnotic depth from the phenomenological and behavioral variables of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory-Hypnotic Assessment Procedure (PCI-HAP). Participants were divided into 2 groups; 1 was used to generate regression equations, and the other group was used for cross-va...

This study characterizes the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) relationships of the cardiovascular, EEG, hypnotic and ventilatory effects of the alpha-2 adrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine in rats. Dexmedetomidine was administered by a single rapid infusion (n = 6) and by an infusion regimen of gradually increasing rate (n = 8). HR, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and EEG signals were recorde...

The study attempted to assess the effectiveness of two devices in facilitating the induction of hypnosis in subjects preselected as low in hypnotizability. Undergraduates were exposed to no treatment (control) or one of four combinations of devices during the induction phase of being administered the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form B of Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1959). Analyses re...

The hypnotic effects of thiopentone, propofol and their combination were studied in 120 unpremedicated ASA group I patients. The end-point for induction of anaesthesia was taken as inability to open the eyes to command 60 s after the end of injection. The dose-response curves were determined by probit analysis. Isobolographic and algebraic (fractional) analyses were used to assess quantitativel...

BACKGROUND Despite its frequent use as a hypnotic, trazodone has not been systematically assessed in fibromyalgia patients. In the present study have we evaluated the potential effectiveness and tolerability of trazodone in the treatment of fibromyalgia. METHODS A flexible dose of trazodone (50-300 mg/day), was administered to 66 fibromyalgia patients for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure...

BACKGROUND The Composite Variability Index (CVI), derived from the electroencephalogram, was developed to assess the antinociception-nociception balance, whereas the Bispectral Index (BIS) was developed to assess the hypnotic state during anesthesia. We studied the relationships between these indices, level of hypnosis (BIS level), and antinociception (predicted remifentanil effect-site concent...

Context Patients with advanced cancer rarely complain of unexplained dizziness after excluding identifiable causes. Some patients become anxious because they attribute the dizziness to the progression of their cancer. We hypothesize that unexplained dizziness is associated with neck muscle hypertonicity, a noncancer-related secondary effect. However, most cases are associated with neck muscle h...

Brain electrical potentials evoked by visual stimulation were analyzed to study the neurophysiological mechanism associated with hypnotic hallucination. The visual evoked responses of 6 highand 6 low-hypnotizable subjects were compared in three hypnotic conditions: stimulus enhancement. stimulus diminution, and stimulus elimination (obstructive hallucination). High-hypnotizable individuals demo...