Understanding hypnosis metacognitively: rTMS applied to left DLPFC increases hypnotic suggestibility

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Hypnotic response may stem from inaccurate higher-order thoughts of intending, as proposed by cold control theory.
• The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is implicated in forming accurate higher-order thoughts.
• Disrupting the DLPFC could impair awareness of intending actions, potentially increasing susceptibility to hypnotic suggestions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in hypnotic response.
• To determine if disrupting the DLPFC using low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affects hypnotic susceptibility.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-four medium hypnotizable subjects received low frequency rTMS to the left DLPFC and a control vertex site.
• Subjects rated their expected and experienced responses to four hypnotic suggestions.
• Behavioral responses were also rated by an experimenter, with the hypnotist blinded to stimulation conditions.

Main Results:

• Low frequency rTMS to the DLPFC significantly increased combined behavioral and subjective hypnotic response compared to the vertex control.
• Hypnotic response enhancement occurred independently of subjects' expectancies.

Conclusions:

• The findings support theories, such as cold control theory, that propose a role for hypofrontality in hypnotic response.
• Disrupting the DLPFC influences hypnotic susceptibility, highlighting its involvement in the cognitive control of intention.