ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2011) — A
multidisciplinary group of researchers from Finland (University of Turku and
Aalto University) and Sweden (University of Skövde) has found that the strange
stare of patients under hypnosis may be a key that can eventually lead to a
solution to a long debate about the existence of a hypnotic state.
One of the most widely known
features of a hypnotized person in the popular culture is a glazed, wide-open
look in the eyes. Paradoxically, this sign has not been considered to have any
major importance among researchers and has never been studied in any detail,
probably due to the fact that it can be seen in only some hypnotized people.
Published in the online journal PLoS
ONE, the study was done with a very highly hypnotizable participant who can
be hypnotized and dehypnotized by just using a one-word cue. The change between
hypnotic state and normal state can thus be varied in seconds.
The researchers used high-resolution
eye-tracking methodology and presented a set of well-established oculomotor
tasks that trigger automatic eye behavior. They found the glazed stare was
accompanied by objectively measurable changes in automatic, reflexive eye
behavior that could not be imitated by non-hypnotized participants.
In the field of hypnosis research
this result means that hypnosis can no longer be regarded as mental imagery
that takes place during a totally normal waking state of consciousness. On the
other hand, the result may have wider consequences for psychology and cognitive
neuroscience, since it provides the first evidence of the existence of a
conscious state in humans that has previously not been scientifically
confirmed.
Hypnosis has had a long and
controversial history in psychology, psychiatry and neurology. For over 100
years researchers have debated if a special hypnotic state exists or whether it
is just about using cognitive strategies and mental imagery in a normal waking
state. So far, a hypnotic state has never been convincingly demonstrated, and
therefore, many researchers regard the hypnotic state to be just a popular myth
in psychology.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Suomen
Akatemia (Academy of Finland), via AlphaGalileo.
Journal Reference:
1.
Sakari Kallio, Jukka Hyönä, Antti
Revonsuo, Pilleriin Sikka, Lauri Nummenmaa. The Existence of a Hypnotic
State Revealed by Eye Movements. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (10): e26374 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0026374
