The relationship between hypnotic ideomotor phenomena and psychopathology: A preliminary study

The relationship between increased psychopathology and hypnotic susceptibility has been a topic debated since the time of Charcot. The primary aim of this study was to investigate this relationship using the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale type A and the major dimensions of psychopathology on the Symptom Check List 90 Revised (SCL-90-R); the secondary objective was to highlight any relationship between responses to induced individual ideomotor phenomena and the severity of psychopathological features. This study highlights the absence of a relationship between increased psychopathology, hypnotic susceptibility and response to formally induced ideomotor suggestions. However, it found that subjects who responded to the suggestion of lowering the left hand (item 3) had lower scores for SCL-90-R Obsession-Compulsion and Depression. Adopting a cautious approach, this study proposes a neurobiological hypothesis for the underlying mechanisms of action, suggesting that while a generalized trance state may facilitate the process, the efficacy of hypnotic suggestions depends fundamentally on the individual recipient and their functional specificity.