What we don't know about the brain and hypnosis, but need to: a view from the Buckhorn Inn

Based on reflections on the University of Tennessee Conference on Brain Imaging and Hypnosis, the authors point the field of hypnosis toward a new generation of research that can successfully coordinate multiple methods of inquiry and effectively connect psychological with biological understanding. They examine issues concerning hypnosis as a state, hypnotic susceptibility as a trait, and the psychological processes that underlie hypnotic responses. The article indicates ways in which some old questions can, and need to, be asked in new ways. The authors illustrate how to move toward a neuropsychological understanding of hypnosis by describing the classic suggestion effect and consider candidate psychological mechanisms to explain this effect. They argue that the neuroscience of hypnosis needs to build on a sound psychological foundation and add to, rather than replace, existing levels of analysis.