AUTHOR=de Matos Nuno M. P. , Staempfli Philipp , Seifritz Erich , Preller Katrin , Bruegger Mike 

TITLE=Investigating functional brain connectivity patterns associated with two hypnotic states

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 17 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1286336

DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2023.1286336

ISSN=1662-5161

ABSTRACT=While there's been clinical success and growing research interest in hypnosis, neurobiological underpinnings induced by hypnosis remain unclear. In this fMRI study (which is part of a larger hypnosis project) with 50 hypnosis-experienced participants, we analyzed neural and physiological responses during two hypnosis states, comparing them to non-hypnotic control conditions and to each other. An unbiased whole-brain analysis (multi-voxel-pattern analysis, MVPA), pinpointed key neural hubs in parieto-occipital-temporal areas, cuneal/precuneal and occipital cortices, lingual gyri, and the occipital pole. Comparing directly both hypnotic states revealed depth-dependent connectivity changes, notably in left superior temporal/supramarginal gyri, cuneus, planum temporale, and lingual gyri. MVPA based seeds were implemented in a seed-to-voxel analysis unveiling region-specific increases and decreases in functional connectivity patterns. Physiologically, the respiration rate significantly slowed during hypnosis. Summarized, these findings foster fresh insights into hypnosis-induced functional connectivity changes and illuminate further knowledge related with the neurobiology of altered consciousness.This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article Sommer, 2021). According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a hypnotichypnosis is defined as "A state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion". state is defined as a modified state of consciousness involving changes of the internal and external/environmental awareness (Elkins et al., 2015). There are different methods for hypnotizing a person. Spoken words with suggestible content are most commonly used for this so-calleda hypnosis induction (Zahedi and Sommer, 2021). A hypnotized person, depending of the hypnotic depth, might experience the following changes: feelings of deep mental and physical relaxation, mental absorption, diminishing of judging and monitoring, suspension of time and localization orientation, and sometimes the experience of automatic or extra-volitional own (motor) responses (