International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

64 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
become more deeply involved in their emotional states, highs, but not lows, showed
greater 40-Hz density at both left and right parieto-occipito-temporal cortex
junctions during emotional states compared to rest in both nonhypnotic De
Pascalis, Marucci, Penna & Pessa, 1987) and hypnotic De Pascalis, Marucci &
Penna, 1989) conditions.Using mean magnitude 40-Hz, Crawford, Clarke and
Kitner-Triolo 1996) did not ®nd differences between lows and highs during selfgenerated
happy and sad emotions.Interestingly, Schnyer and Allen 1995) found
highs who experienced recognition amnesia generated signi®cantly more 40-Hz
power in preinduction but not postinduction conditions than highs not experiencing
recognition amnesia or lows.
GREATER HEMISPHERIC ASYMMETRIES AMONG HIGHS
High hypnotizable persons have a greater disposition for more sustained attention
and deeper involvement.In addition, they appear to have greater cognitive
¯exibility, the ability to shift from one strategy to another and from one alternative
state of consciousness to another e.g., Crawford, 1989; Crawford & Allen, 1983;
Crawford & Gruzelier, 1992).Similarly, at a neurophysiological level, highs often
demonstrate greater EEG hemispheric speci®city in hypnotic and nonhypnotic
conditions.
MacLeod-Morgan and Lack 1982) noted highs shifted in EEG alpha power
hemispheric dominance when performing analytical and nonanalytical tasks while
lows did not.Greater hemispheric speci®city in certain EEG frequency bands, in
nonhypnosis and hypnosis conditions, among highs has been noted elsewhere e.g.,
Crawford, 1989; Crawford, Clarke & Kitner-Triolo, 1996; De Pascalis & Palumbo,
1986; MeÂszaÂros & BaÂnyai, 1978; MeÂszaÂros, Crawford, SzaboÂ, Nagy-KovaÂcs &
ReÂveÂsz, 1989; Sabourin et al., 1990).
Hypnosis facilitates access to and involvement in emotional material and for this
reason is often seen as a facilitator of hypnotherapy.Quite relevant to hypnotherapy,
highs generally report more intense affect when viewing violent ®lms Crowson,
Conroy & Chester, 1991) and experiencing positive and negative emotions Crawford,
1989; Crawford, Clarke & Kitner-Triolo, 1996; Crawford, Kapelis & Harrison,
1995) during nonhypnotic conditions.During hypnosis, possibly due to greater
focused attention and decreased generalized reality orientation, highs report
enhanced intensity and vividness of emotionally laden imagery e.g., Crawford,
Clarke & Kitner-Triolo, 1996).This may help explain why hypnoprojective and
abreactive techniques e.g., Brown & Fromm, 1986; Watkins, 1993), often utilized
in therapy to elicit, titrate and metabolize traumatic material, can be useful for
some patients.Furthermore, it may help us understand why desensitization
techniques are often facilitated by hypnosis.
At a neurophysiological level, when presented with emotional stimuli Crawford,
Kapelis & Harrison, 1995), or asked to generate emotional memories Crawford,
Clarke & Kitner-Triolo, 1996), highs show, respectively, greater visual ®eld and