Hypnotic suggestion reduces conflict in the human brain
- Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
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Contributed by Michael I. Posner, April 13, 2005
Abstract
Many studies have suggested that conflict monitoring involves the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We previously showed that a specific hypnotic suggestion reduces involuntary conflict and alters information processing in highly hypnotizable individuals. Hypothesizing that such conflict reduction would be associated with decreased ACC activation, we combined neuroimaging methods to provide high temporal and spatial resolution and studied highly and less-hypnotizable participants both with and without a suggestion to interpret visual words as nonsense strings. Functional MRI data revealed that under posthypnotic suggestion, both ACC and visual areas presented reduced activity in highly hypnotizable persons compared with either no-suggestion or less-hypnotizable controls. Scalp electrode recordings in highly hypnotizable subjects also showed reductions in posterior activation under suggestion, indicating visual system alterations. Our findings illuminate how suggestion affects cognitive control by modulating activity in specific brain areas, including early visual modules, and provide a more scientific account relating the neural effects of suggestion to placebo.
Footnotes
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↵ † To whom correspondence should be sent at the present address: MRI Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 74, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: ar2241{at}columbia.edu.
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↵ ‡ Present address: Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029.
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↵ § Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.
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Author contributions: A.R., J.F., and M.I.P. designed research; A.R. performed research; A.R. and J.F. analyzed data; and A.R. and M.I.P. wrote the paper.
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Abbreviations: ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; fMRI, functional MRI; ERP, event-related potentials; RT, reaction time.
- Copyright © 2005, The National Academy of Sciences
