ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Neuropsychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1567526
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Trends in Mind-Body Techniques: Boosting Wellbeing with Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Neurofeedback, Mindfulness, Hypnosis and Other Neuromodulatory ApproachesView all articles
Study on resting-state functional connectivity characteristics under hypnosis using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
Provisionally accepted
ZHISONG ZHANG1
Wanqiu Tan2
Yuhong MA1Min ZHENG1Yuan ZHANG1Jiaming WEI1Yaozuo WANG1*Zhimeng LI1Zhifei LI3
Roger C Ho4- 1Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China
- 2National University of Singapore (Chongqing) Research Institute, Chongqing, China
- 3National University of Singapore Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI), Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
- 4Division of Life Science, School of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR China
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Objective: Numerous studies suggest that hypnosis has significant potential in mental health and cognitive disorder treatments. However, the mechanisms by which hypnosis influences brain activity and functional network connectivity remain unclear. This study employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) under hypnosis.Methods: Twenty-six healthy college students participated in the study. Resting-state oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) data were collected from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during both control aware and hypnotic states. Functional connectivity strengths between these states were analyzed to assess changes in brain activity associated with deep hypnosis.Results: A total of 55 paired samples t-tests were conducted across 11 regions of interest (ROIs), revealing statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in functional connectivity strength between the control state and hypnotic state in 10 paired comparisons.Increased connectivity during hypnosis (6 pairs):LBA9-RBA10（t=-2.672，P=0.013）,LBA6-RBA46（t=-2.948，P=0.007）,LBA46-RBA46（t=-2.516，P=0.019）,RBA8-RBA46（t=-2.689，P=0.013）, RBA9-RBA46（t=-2.090，P=0.047）, LBA10-RBA10（t=-2.315，P=0.029）;Decreased connectivity during hypnosis (4 pairs):LBA9-LBA45（t=2.064，P=0.049）,LBA6-LBA45（t=3.151，P=0.004）, LBA8-LBA45（t=2.438，P=0.022）,LBA8-RBA9（t=2.085，P=0.047）.No significant differences were observed in connectivity strength between other ROI pairs.Conclusion: Hypnosis appears to modulate the function of the DLPFC, PFC, and related regions, enhancing specific brain network functional connectivity. This preliminary study demonstrates that resting-state functional connectivity analysis using fNIRS is a valuable approach for studying brain activity during hypnosis.
Keywords: functional near-infrared spectroscopy, Hypnosis, Frontal Lobe, resting-state, functional connectivity
Received: 27 Jan 2025; Accepted: 23 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 ZHANG, Tan, MA, ZHENG, ZHANG, WEI, WANG, LI, LI and Ho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yaozuo WANG, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China
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