Abstract

Introduction

Hypnotizability and Automaticity

Conclusions

References

Discussion
Board

Mesmer's attempt to explain animal magnetism through the neurophysiological action of a purported magnetic fluid launched a quest that is still ongoing. Being able to pin down what happens during hypnosis to physiological processes would finally establish this phenomenon in the realm of the hard sciences. We propose that hypnotizability, not hypnosis, stems from an individual's capacity to automatise responses. This automatisation capacity implicates frontal lobe processing differences along the hypnotizability continuum. Convergent evidence from recent studies in our laboratory, from ERPs studies of automaticity to the activation of automatic responses during hypnosis, strongly suggests that the triggering physiological mechanisms underlying hypnosis are at play long before hypnosis is induced.

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Presentation Number SAlaurence0642
Keywords: automaticity, hypnotizability, frontal lobes