Novel Neuroscience Meets Historic Hypnosis
What happens when the brain of a person is hypnotised? Hypnosis, you see, is old. In fact, it is at least three hundred years old. The ability to look inside a live brain that is being hypnotised, however, isn’t. Indeed, the best study of this nature was published rather recently, in 2016. Below, we look at what novel neuroscience can reveal about historic hypnosis.
It’s true that reading about neuroscience can be daunting (and in truth, a bit boring). Daunting and boring because in neuroscience you can expect to find endless anacronyms, strange words like Dorsal Anterior, and general confusion. Knowing that – and often experiencing similar feelings myself! – I will try to write what follows in a clear and interesting way. What matters is not the names of different brain regions but understanding the real and physical effects that hypnosis has on a human brain.
In general, where hypnosis is concerned, four brain areas are implicated. We need to get a bit familiar with these before discussing the research findings. The brain areas are:
1. First is our Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC). This is an area of the brain that houses the salience network – which helps to prioritise and respond to important inputs. Think of the dACC like the brain’s secretary; it’s an important hub where information gets organised. If you’ve ever had to decide on what’s important, the dACC is where you did it. It plays a crucial role in attention, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
2. Then there’s the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (dlPFC), which is an area of the brain associated with rational thought. In general, having a prefrontal cortex is something that distinguishes humans from other animals. It is specifically involved in planning, memory, regulating behaviour, and managing complex thought processes. Within humans, adults tend to have fully developed prefrontal cortexes, whereas children and teens don’t, which accounts for their increased impulsivity. Ever needed to turn down a slice of chocolate cake or another drink? This dlPFC is where it happened.
3. The Insula is an area of the brain that allows us to perceive what’s happening inside our bodies. It also plays an important role in empathy, emotional experiences, and homeostasis. Ever touched a hot pan and then felt pain? The insula helped to make that feeling happen.
4. And finally, there is the Default Mode Network (DMN) - an area of the brain where we think about ourselves in relation to the world. Ever daydreamed or reflected on yourself – or on life? The default mode network is where you did it. One easy way to remember the DMN is that psychedelic drugs, like magic mushrooms, really shake up this network. This effect partly accounts for the loss of self that many people experience when tripping.
Now that we have some familiarity with our brain areas, let’s look at what happens to a hypnotised brain. Summarised, the effects are as follows:
First there is reduced activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Recall that the dACC is like the brain’s secretary. That is, it’s where we prioritise and organise. Higher levels of activity here means more weighing of options (more pro and cons lists), whereas lower levels leads to a feeling of deep absorption and focused attention (more enjoyment of great movies). Part of a hypnotised brain is experiencing the latter: getting immensely absorbed in the moment. In hypnosis, things get streamlined. Noisy information is not attended to. Imagine now that the focus is not a good movie but on relaxation, gaining confidence, or taking positive actions – which are all common and effective hypnotic suggestions.
Then there is increased connection between the insula and prefrontal cortex. Recall that the prefrontal cortex is the seat of our rational selves. The insula, on the other hand, helps to connect our body to our brain. And so in hypnosis, increased connection between these two brain regions leads to a stronger brain-body connection. In hypnosis, not only are people absorbed in the moment, but they can better connect to how their body feels – a useful experience to have. Increased brain-body connections also means, for example, an increased ability to reduce signals coming from the body. This is particularly helpful in reducing the feelings associated with stress or pain, both of which hypnosis is good for.
Finally, there is reduced connectivity between the daydreaming default mode network (DMN) and the rational prefrontal cortex. If the DMN is where we reflect on ourselves, then it is also the place where we feel self-conscious – where we doubt ourselves. And if the prefrontal cortex is where we are rational, then it is also the home of overthinking. It is easy to see, therefore, that a reduced connection between our self-conscious brain and our overthinking brain could lead to a useful disconnect. Which simply means: in hypnosis you can expect to experience less overthinking and a greater willingness to take action.
In short, hypnosis creates a unique brain state. Generally in hypnosis, people become absorbed and hyper-focused. They become more attuned to their body, and better able to tine out noisy bodily signals. Overthinking and self-doubt stops; instead these are replaced with a positive bias towards taking action. These are some of the reasons that many people enjoy using hypnosis to both to focus and to relax. Most importantly, these effects are real, as is demonstrated in the neuroscience literature.
General References
Brain Activity Changes: Spiegel’s team identified three main changes in brain activity during hypnosis:
Decreased Activity in the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate: This area is part of the brain’s salience network, which helps prioritize important information. During hypnosis, reduced activity here suggests a deep focus and absorption, minimizing distractions1.