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Hypnosis increases heat detection and heat pain thresholds in healthy volunteers
Agnès Langlade1, Claire Jussiau, Laurent Lamonerie
1Anesthetic Department and Pain Clinic, Tenon Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
Background And Objectives:
Hypnosis has been reported to induce analgesia and to facilitate anesthesia. To date, hypnotic-induced analgesia has had little explanation and it has even been questioned. The current study was thus designed to investigate the effect of hypnotic suggestion on thermal-detection thresholds, heat pain, and heat-pain tolerance thresholds.
Methods:
In 15 healthy volunteers, enrolled in a randomized cross-over study, thermal thresholds were investigated in 2 sequences of measurements, under waking and hypnotic states, using a thermal stimulator.
Results:
Heat detection and heat-pain thresholds were increased under hypnosis (from 34.3 +/-.9 degrees C to 36.0 +/- 2.9 degrees C and 45.0 +/- 3.7 degrees C to 46.7 +/- 2.7 degrees C, respectively, P <.05), whereas heat-pain tolerance and cold-detection thresholds were not statistically changed.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that hypnosis may partly impair the detection of A delta and C fibers stimulation, potentially explaining its analgesic effect.