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Electrophysiological Alterations During Hypnosis for Ego-Enhancement: A Preliminary Investigation

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Apr 2004 by Stevens, Larry, Brady, Brian, Goon, Angela, Adams, Deanna, Et al

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Alpha and delta frequency characteristics recorded during hypnosis in this study were less remarkable and generally supported the more contemporary findings of no alpha enhancement or general delta effect during hypnosis. Alpha power tended to decrease throughout the induction procedure and only returned to pre-hypnosis baseline levels after the formal hypnosis process was concluded. If indeed alpha is a state of quiet mental rest and calm (Perlini & Spanos, 1991), the active mental involvement in directed imagery, focused attention, and therapeutic suggestions during most clinical hypnosis would be expected to directly inhibit alpha. Of particular interest to these findings is the research of Klimesch and colleagues (Klimesch, Schimke, Ladurner, & Pfurtscheller, 1990; Klimesch, 1995; Klimesch, 1999), suggesting that suppressed low frequency alpha activity is associated with increased relative cortical involvement, while increased higher frequency alpha reflects increased cognitive load, memory performance, and task demands. Although the present study did not examine variations across hypnosis stages in separate low, mid, and high frequency alpha components, the obtained general U-shaped alpha power pattern could reflect relative contributions of these frequency components as the cognitive demands changed across hypnosis conditions. A similar explanation may be offered for the significantly lower alpha power at baseline and across conditions for moderates relative to highs and lows, suggesting differences in general arousal levels for the moderate hypnotizables. Interestingly, Crawford, et al.(1996) also found no differences between high and low hypnotizables in the low frequency alpha band at parietal sites during waking or hypnosis conditions, but significant differences in mid and high alpha activity during self-generated emotional conditions. These differential outcomes as a function of more narrow frequency bands highlight the importance of examining high, medium, and low components of the more traditional broad EEG frequency ranges of alpha, theta, delta, and beta.

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This study was unique in that it examined EEG alterations during a live, therapeutic hypnosis induction, deepening, and suggestion process. Although the participants were not clinical patients per se and probably lacked the motivational characteristics of individuals seeking help for some emotional or physical concern, and although there was a departure from standard clinical protocols with the brief and innocuous attachment of five surface electrodes, the balance of the "treatment" in this study followed very typical clinical protocols, including utilization of a therapy suite; ASCH-trained clinicians; and a live hypnotic induction, deepening, and suggestions protocol commonly taught in ASCH clinical training workshops. Therefore, every effort was made to as closely as possible replicate the processes involved in a clinical hypnosis context.

Additionally, following the guidelines of Sabourin, et al. (1990), participants were initially categorized into hypnotizability groups across two correlates of hypnotic susceptibility, including the recognized keystone hypnotizability measure, the SHSS:C. Comparisons of EEG characteristics for these participants matched across two measures with non-matched (SHSS:C) participants found no differences when the more stringent classification was utilized. Consequently, participants were categorized on susceptibility by the Stanford alone in the final data analysis. However, the TAS and CIS only correlate moderately at best (.34 and .44, respectively in the present study) with the Stanford scales and measure only correlates of hypnotic susceptibility. This process of identifying purer susceptibility classifications could have been considerably enhanced by utilizing another measure of susceptibility, such as the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (Shor & Orne, 1962), and represents a limitation of the present study. Other limitations include the relatively small number of very highly hypnotizable participants and the use of only one EEG measurement site.

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Electrophysiological Alterations During Hypnosis for Ego-Enhancement: A Preliminary Investigation

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Apr 2004 by Stevens, Larry, Brady, Brian, Goon, Angela, Adams, Deanna, Et al

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