Neuromodulating Hypnotizability

Description:

We completed data collection for a study testing the ability to increase responsiveness to hypnosis (hypnotizability) using noninvasive brain stimulation. We developed a personalized, neuroimaging-based targeting method using an individual’s brain structure and function, tracing a neural pathway involved in hypnotizability.

The Challenge:

Clinical hypnosis offers an effective drug-free approach to treat a variety of psychophysiological symptoms, particularly pain. Unfortunately, not everyone responds equally to hypnosis. By augmenting brain functions using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we tested if we could make the brains of people who were not highly hypnotizable act and function as if they were.

Our Study:

To solve this problem, we collaborated with Dr. David Spiegel’s lab at Stanford Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, to identify the best target for neuromodulation.

We developed a novel approach named the Stanford Hypnosis Integrated with Functional Connectivity-targeted Transcranial Stimulation (SHIFT), designed to identify the optimal stimulation target in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), based on functional connectivity with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Both the DLPFC and the dACC are involved in hypnosis, and Dr. Spiegel’s lab found that their connectivity is a correlate of high hypnotizability.

Relevant Publications:

• Faerman, A., Bishop, J.H., Stimpson, K.H. … & Williams, N. R., Spiegel, D.  Stanford Hypnosis Integrated with Functional Connectivity-targeted Transcranial Stimulation (SHIFT): a preregistered randomized controlled trial. Nat. Mental Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00184-z
• Bishop, J. H., Faerman, A., Geoly, A. … Spiegel, D. & Williams, N. R. Altered Neurotransmitter Ratio in the Prefrontal Cortex is Associated with Pain in Fibromyalgia Syndrome. MedRxiv (2021). https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.28.21265618
• Faerman, A., Stimpson, K. H., Bishop, J. H. … & Williams, N. R., Spiegel, D. Hypnotic predictors of agency: Responsiveness to specific suggestions in hypnosis is associated with involuntariness in fibromyalgia. Consciousness and Cognition (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2021.103221

Join Us on this Journey:

We invite you to stay connected with us as we delve into this exciting frontier of psychiatric treatment. Follow our progress, access research findings, and be part of the dialogue that could lead to a brighter future for individuals battling psychiatric and neurological conditions.

Together, we aim to advance the science of hypnosis and expand our understanding of the neurocognitive components of human consciousness. Our goal is to develop precision interventions to enhance the effects of psychological and psychiatric treatments, allowing for more targeted and efficient treatments in mental health care and beyond.