Hemodynamic Correlates of Distinct Hypnotic States
Condition: Hypnosis
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The investigation will assess the brain activation connectivity patterns associated with
      hypnosis and possible hypnotic sub-states by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging
      (fMRI). For that purpose, 50 healthy participants highly familiar with hypnosis (according to
      the OMNI-method) will be recruited and tested.
    

Detailed description: 
      Despite the growing number of studies investigating of the physiological underpinnings of
      hypnosis by means of neuroimaging methods such as electroencephalography (EEG) positron
      emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), still no
      consensus exists regarding the underlying neurophysiological working mechanisms due to high
      levels of variability in the data.

      Generally, the variability observed in research examining the neurobiological fundamentals of
      hypnosis could be attributed to the following characteristics:

        1. Heterogeneity regarding hypnotic induction procedures.

        2. Insufficient statistical power.

        3. Mono-Modality: Studies investigating the neurophysiologic mechanisms of hypnosis
           typically apply only one method for the investigation of their research questions.
           However, different techniques complement each other, hence, resulting in a more thorough
           understanding of the mechanisms of action.

      In this project, the investigators present a multimodal approach, in which these three points
      are considered in order to provide a comprehensive picture with respect to psycho- and
      neurophysiologic fundamentals of hypnosis and proposed distinct hypnotic states.

      Point 1) will be approached by applying a highly reproducible method for the hypnotic
      induction (OMNI-hypnosis). This hypnosis method is fast, direct and all OMNI educated
      hypnotherapists follow exactly the same induction procedure. This implies a high level of
      standardization and operationalization, crucial prerequisites to investigate the phenomenon
      based on scientific guidelines.

      Point 2) will be addressed by including a homogeneous study sample of 50 highly suggestible
      participants. Furthermore, the comparably high number of 50 participants should ensure
      sufficient statistical power particularly in consideration of the homogeneity of the study
      sample.

      Point 3) is addressed by following a multimodal approach combining a vast array of
      psychophysiological measures with multimodal neuroimaging. For that purpose, the project will
      be divided into three studies: A EEG- and psychophysiological study, a fMRI-study and a
      magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) study.

      In the present study, fMRI is applied for the investigation of network dynamics associated
      with hypnotic states. Hypnotic states will be compared to control states which follow mock
      instructions matched to the hypnosis instructions.
    

Intervention name(s): Hypnosis; Control
Intervention type(s): Procedure; Procedure
Intervention description(s): The hypnosis intervention consists of two elements: A hypnotic induction and a hypnotic deepening. The induction aims at guiding the participant into the first hypnotic state (state 1). The participants will remain in this state for 10 minutes, the duration of the fMRI-scan. The hypnotic deepening guides the participants into a very deep hypnotic state (state 2). Participants also remain in this state for 10 minutes, during which their brain activity is measured using fMRI; The control intervention consists of texts corresponding to the induction and deepening of the hypnosis intervention. They are matched in duration and consist of textually matched excerpts from www.wikipedia.org. Control induction will be presented, resulting in the control state 1 (10 min). Then the control deepening will be performed, leading to the control state 2 (10 minutes). During both control states the brain activity will be recorded using fMRI.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Hypnosis; Neurophysiology; fMRI; Resting-State; Hypnotic Sub-States