Experimental Approach to the Transmission of Information in Hypnosis

Abstract

The means by which information can be transmitted in hypnosis are debated. Aim of this pilot study was to induce and maintain hypnosis without the hypnotist and the subject being in the same room. In other words, we wanted to clarify, using measurable outcomes, if the hypnotic message could be conveyed through an electronic device. We studied 6 young healthy highly hypnotizable volunteers. After a session aimed at creating the rapport, each participant underwent an experimental session consisting in the execution of a cold pressor test (CTP) in basal awake condition, during hypnotic focused analgesia in the presence of the hypnotist (HFA-P) and during hypnotic focused analgesia suggested via transceiver (HFA-R). Cardiovascular monitoring was performed throughout the session. Perceived pain intensity and hemodynamic parameters during the CPT (baseline, 1 st minute, end of the test) in the three phases of the experimental session were compared with paired t-test. During both HFA-P and HFA-R, perceived pain was nullified. The times of permanence in icy water significantly increased in comparison to non-hypnotic condition by 369.2% in HFA-P and by 394.3% in HFA-R. The systolic blood pressure × heart rate product increased in non-hypnotic conditions (+27.8%, p < 0.01, at the 1 st minute; +35.3%, p = 0.01, at the end) but not during HFA-P (−1% and −0.2%, NS) or HFA-R (+7.3% and −1.6%, NS). In conclusion, hypnosis induced and maintained via transceiver was equivalent to that in the presence of the hypnotist. The hypnotic information therefore turned out to be more important than the means chosen to transmit it.

Granone’s Plastic Monoideism Demonstrated by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

“…The hypnotist did not enter the fMRI room but was constantly in contact with the subject via an intercom and monitored their conditions from the adjacent room. In a recent experimental study, we demonstrated that both induction and maintenance of deep hypnosis are possible atdistance, by means of an electronicdevice (Casiglia et al, 2018a).…”

“…In a second session, the same participants repeated the exam being involved in the same task after producing hypnotic analgesia in an intra-subject latin-square protocol in which each participant was control of him/herself. In previous experiments, we had already demonstrated that hypnotic analgesia exists for both non-trieminal (systemic) and trigeminal pain and is a real, measurable and repeatable phenomenon (Casiglia et al, 2007(Casiglia et al, , 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2018aFacco et al, 2009Facco et al, , 2011Facco et al, , 2013Facco et al, , 2011aFacco et al, , 2018, and that hypnosis is an excellent way to study not only the mind but also the body (Casiglia et al, 2012a;Tikhonoff et al, 2012). Briefly, these experiments were performed by means of sympathetic and parasympathetic tests (Ibrahim, 1975) whose characteristic is to produce consequences on cardiovascular system.…”

“…Once the participant was inside the scanner, his/her head was immobilized using foam padding and a head band to minimize movements. Good comprehension of the procedure was ascertained, and headphones were placed on their ears to ensure a connection with the external environment (Casiglia et al, 2018a). Experimental instructions were presented on a display and projected via the Nordic Neurolab fibre optic visual presentation device mounted over the scanner head coil.…”

“…For the Franco Granone's School (Granone, 1962(Granone, , 1972(Granone, , 1989Casiglia, 2015), the basis of hypnotic trance is the so-called "plastic monoideism" (Casiglia, 2012), i.e. the realization of a mental image leading-thanks to the hypnotic condition-to a so high level of concentration and intensity to become "plastic", in other words able to produce both psychic (Casiglia et al, 2010b(Casiglia et al, , 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2012b(Casiglia et al, , 2016bCasiglia & Mentesana, 2018;Facco et al, 2014Facco et al, , 2017Facco et al, , 2019Giordano et al, 2012;Tikhonoff et al, 2018) and physical (Casiglia et al, , 2016a(Casiglia et al, , 2018aCasiglia & Mentesana, 2018;Casiglia & Mentesana, 2007;Tikhonoff et al, 2018) effects. As previously demonstrated by our School (Casiglia et al, 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2012b(Casiglia et al, , 2018aTikhonoff et al, 2018) and by other Authors (Beevi et al, 2017;Dittrich et al, 2018;Halsband & Wolf, 2015), hypnosis sustained by plastic monoideism, reverberating at a psychosomatic level (Granone, 1962(Granone, , 1972(Granone, , 1989Casiglia, 2015), is therefore an excellent way to study experimentally both mind and body, and a precious tool in the hand of researchers (Casiglia et al, 1994(Casiglia et al, , 2012a.…”

“…Lacking of this demonstration makes uncomfortable the scientists who are trying to ferry hypnosis from the category of narrative psychology to that of Galilean science. The research group represented by the Laboratory of Experimental Hypnosis of the University of Padova acting in concert with the Institute Franco Granone of Torino has always been particularly active in this field, using to this aim bot experimental models and technological devices that are normally and typically employed in classic human physiology (Casiglia et al, 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2012b(Casiglia et al, , 2016b(Casiglia et al, , 2018a(Casiglia et al, , 2018bCasiglia & Mentesana, 2018).…”