Hypnosis, human nature, and complexity: integrating neuroscience approaches into hypnosis research

Hypnosis research has contributed much to the understanding of human behavior and experience, both normal and abnormal. This paper considers ways in which neuroscience approaches may be integrated into hypnosis research to continue and enhance that contribution, as well as further reveal the nature of hypnosis itself. The authors review the influences on and advances in hypnosis research over the last century; illustrate the investigative value of hypnosis to selected phenomena across the areas of doing, feeling, believing, and remembering; and specify elements for the successful integration of neuroscience approaches into hypnosis research. The authors believe that hypnosis research offers powerful techniques to isolate psychological processes in ways that allow their neural bases to be mapped. Successful integration will be achieved when researchers add levels of explanation, rather than shift the emphasis from one level or feature to another.