International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

74 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
psychological disorders.Experimental evidence shows that more highly hypnotizable
persons have greater cognitive and physiological ¯exibility than do lows e.g.,
Crawford, 1989). Highs shift more easily from detail to holistic strategies e.g.,
Crawford & Allen, 1983), from left to right anterior functioning as demonstrated
by neuropsychological tests e.g., Gruzelier & Warren, 1993) and from one state of
awareness to another.Evidence was reviewed that these cognitive strategy shifts are
evidenced by greater neurophysiological hemispheric speci®city or dominance
across tasks, as seen in EEG and visual ®eld studies.
EEG, evoked potential and neuroimaging pET, SPECT, rCBF, fMRI) data
provide evidence that hypnotic phenomena selectively involve cortical and subcortical
processes of either hemisphere, dependent upon the nature of the task.No
longer can one call hypnosis a right hemisphere task.The more highly hypnotizable
persons appear to possess stronger attentional ®ltering and inhibitory abilities that
may be associated with the frontal attentional system.Dissociated control during
hypnosis, such as that seen in hypnotic analgesia for pain, requires higher order
cognitive and attentional effort, as evidenced by shifts in EEG theta power e.g.,
Crawford, 1990) and increased cerebral metabolism in neuroimaging studies e.g.,
Crawford, Gur et al., 1993; Halama, 1989). The lack of perceived control and a
decreased self-concept Kunzendorf, 1989±90) does not negate processes still
occurring that involve higher cognitive processing and the executive control system.
Brain research is validating and extending clinical and experimental observations
of hypnotic phenomena.It is demonstrating that `There is good evidence for the ageold
belief that the brain has something to do with ... mind' Miller, Galanter &
Pribram, 1960, p.196).This knowledge will help us communicate to the medical and
psychological communities, as well as the patient and family, why and how hypnosis is
such an important therapeutic technique in behavioral medicine and psychotherapy.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my many clinical colleagues, your informal discussions at meetings and excellent case
studies and experimental clinical intervention studies are much appreciated.From you I
learned to appreciate the intricacies of hypnotic interventions and was alerted to clinical
phenomena and issues that could be investigated in the laboratory.Research reported herein
was supported by the National Institutes of Health 1 R21 RR09598), The Spencer
Foundation, National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Support grants and intramural
grants from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the University of
Wyoming to the author.
REFERENCES
Akpinar, S., Ulett, G. A. & Itil, T. M. 1971). Hypnotizability predicted by computeranalyzed
EEG pattern. Biolog. Psychiat., 3, 387±392.