Hypnotic General Anesthesia vs. Hypnotic Focused Analgesia in Preventing Pain and its Reflex Cardiovascular Effects

Abstract

Hypnotic focused analgesia (HFA) induces local anesthesia. The possibility to induce hypnotic general anesthesia (HGA) has never been investigated. An experimental study was conducted with 10 highly-hypnotizable young volunteers to compare the effects of HFA and those, if any, of HGA on pain perception and its reflex consequences. Pain tolerance was measured through the mA of current necessary to induce maximum tolerable pain, and sympathetic discharge through the response of peripheral resistance (PR). All experienced pain reduction at the maximum ESMN during HFA (-75%, p<0.0001) and HGA (-87%, p<0.0001) in comparison to prehypnosis; 4 during HFA and 7 during HGA reported complete analgesia. The pain tolerance increased by 68% and by 101% (p=0.034), respectively. In prehypnosis, a 65.8% increase of the forearm PR was observed during maximum tolerable pain. Lower variations of PR were observed during HFA and no variations during HGA. HGA therefore exists and prevents pain perception and its consequences.

Hypnotic Focused Analgesia Obtained Through Body Dysmorphism Prevents Both Pain and Its Cardiovascular Effects

“…This preliminary procedure was used to screen and exclude subjects more prone to develop unwanted secondary effects to hypnotic dissociation. The general characteristics of the volunteers were those of a population of healthy young adults (Casiglia et al, 1997(Casiglia et al, , 2006(Casiglia et al, , 2007(Casiglia et al, , 2010(Casiglia et al, , 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2015Facco et al, 2011;Tikhonoff et al, 2012).…”

“…We arrived to the here described protocol of cardiovascular monitoring after applying it in experimental setting for years in and out of hypnotism practice (Casiglia et al, 1992(Casiglia et al, , 1997(Casiglia et al, , 1998a(Casiglia et al, , 2000(Casiglia et al, , 2006(Casiglia et al, , 2007(Casiglia et al, , 2015Facco et al, 2011;Giordano et al, 2012;Tikhonoff et al, 2012).…”

“…In the last years the Laboratory of Experimental Hypnosis of the Department of Medicine of the University of Padua in collaboration with the Institute Franco Granone of Turin (Italy) has demonstrated that, through suggestions given to a subject in deep hypnosis, it is possible to induce cognitive modifications which can be studied in controlled experimental setting (Casiglia et al, 1997(Casiglia et al, , 2006(Casiglia et al, , 2007(Casiglia et al, , 2010(Casiglia et al, , 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2015Facco et al, 2011;Tikhonoff et al, 2012). Thus, it has been shown that the effects of the hypnotic suggestions are not merely subjective but induce objective cerebral and physiological modifications that are real in everyday physical world.…”

“…Thus, it has been shown that the effects of the hypnotic suggestions are not merely subjective but induce objective cerebral and physiological modifications that are real in everyday physical world. One of the most interesting modifications induced by hypnosis is pain control (Casiglia et al, 2012a(Casiglia et al, , 2015Chaves & Dworkin, 1997;Facco et al, 2011;Holroyd, 1996;Tikhonoff et al, 2012).…”

“…Hypnotic focused analgesia (HFA) (Casiglia et al, 2007(Casiglia et al, , 2015Facco et al, 2011), comparable to chemical local anesthesia, is an attentive deficit induced via hypnotic or posthypnotic commands (Chaves et al, 1997;Holroyd, 1996). We recently showed that, through specific hypnotic commands, analgesia can also be extended to the whole body and associated to narcosis, muscular paralysis (except for respiratory muscles) and amnesia, reproducing via hypnosis the picture of spontaneous-breathing general anesthesia or deep sedation (Casiglia et al, 2015).…”