Cerebral Mechanisms of Hypnotic Induction and Suggestion

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Rainville ◽  
Robert K. Hofbauer ◽  
Tomáš Paus ◽  
Gary H. Duncan ◽  
M. Catherine Bushnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Perception ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hypnotic Suggestions

The neural mechanisms underlying hypnotic states and responses to hypnotic suggestions remain largely unknown and, to date, have been studied only with indirect methods. Here, the effects of hypnosis and suggestions to alter pain perception were investigated in hypnotizable subjects by using positron emission tomography (PET) measures of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of brain electrical activity. The experimental conditions included a restful state (Baseline) followed by hypnotic relaxation alone (Hypnosis) and by hypnotic relaxation with suggestions for altered pain unpleasantness (Hypnosis-with-Suggestion). During each scan, the left hand was immersed in neutral (35°C) or painfully hot (47°C) water in the first two conditions and in painfully hot water in the last condition. Hypnosis was accompanied by significant increases in both occipital rCBF and delta EEG activity, which were highly correlated with each other (r = 0.70, p < 0.0001). Peak increases in rCBF were also observed in the caudal part of the right anterior cingulate sulcus and bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyri. Hypnosis-related decreases in rCBF were found in the right inferior parietal lobule, the left precuneus, and the posterior cingulate gyrus. Hypnosis-with-suggestions produced additional widespread increases in rCBF in the frontal cortices predominantly on the left side. Moreover, the medial and lateral posterior parietal cortices showed suggestion-related increases overlapping partly with regions of hypnosis-related decreases. Results support a state theory of hypnosis in which occipital increases in rCBF and delta activity reflect the alteration of consciousness associated with decreased arousal and possible facilitation of visual imagery. Frontal increases in rCBF associated with suggestions for altered perception might reflect the verbal mediation of the suggestions, working memory, and top-down processes involved in the reinterpretation of the perceptual experience. These results provide a new description of the neurobiological basis of hypnosis, demonstrating specific patterns of cerebral activation associated with the hypnotic state and with the processing of hypnotic suggestions.

Cortical Representation of the Sensory Dimension of Pain

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 402-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Hofbauer ◽  
Pierre Rainville ◽  
Gary H. Duncan ◽  
M. Catherine Bushnell
Keyword(s):  
Pain Intensity ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Noxious Heat ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Dimensions Of Pain ◽  
Hypnotic Suggestions

It is well accepted that pain is a multidimensional experience, but little is known of how the brain represents these dimensions. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to indirectly measure pain-evoked cerebral activity before and after hypnotic suggestions were given to modulate the perceived intensity of a painful stimulus. These techniques were similar to those of a previous study in which we gave suggestions to modulate the perceived unpleasantness of a noxious stimulus. Ten volunteers were scanned while tonic warm and noxious heat stimuli were presented to the hand during four experimental conditions: alert control, hypnosis control, hypnotic suggestions for increased-pain intensity and hypnotic suggestions for decreased-pain intensity. As shown in previous brain imaging studies, noxious thermal stimuli presented during the alert and hypnosis-control conditions reliably activated contralateral structures, including primary somatosensory cortex (S1), secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex. Hypnotic modulation of the intensity of the pain sensation led to significant changes in pain-evoked activity within S1 in contrast to our previous study in which specific modulation of pain unpleasantness (affect), independent of pain intensity, produced specific changes within the ACC. This double dissociation of cortical modulation indicates a relative specialization of the sensory and the classical limbic cortical areas in the processing of the sensory and affective dimensions of pain.

scholarly journals Frequency-Dependent Changes of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow during Finger Movements

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihiro Sadato ◽  
Vicente Ibañez ◽  
Marie-Pierre Deiber ◽  
Gregory Campbell ◽  
Marc Leonardo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensorimotor Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Progressive Change ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Primary Sensorimotor Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Recruitment ◽  
Simple Movement ◽  
The Right ◽  
Fast Rates ◽  
Significant Activation

To study the effect of the repetition rate of a simple movement on the distribution and magnitude of neuronal recruitment, we measured regional CBF (rCBF) in eight normal volunteers, using positron emission tomography and 15O-labeled water. An auditory-cued, repetitive flexion movement of the right index finger against the thumb was performed at very slow (0.25 and 0.5 Hz), slow (0.75 and 1 Hz), fast (2 and 2.5 Hz), and very fast (3 and 4 Hz) rates. The increase of rCBF during movement relative to the resting condition was calculated for each pair of movement conditions. Left primary sensorimotor cortex showed no significant activation at the very slow rates. There was a rapid rise of rCBF between the slow and the fast rates, but no further increase at the very fast rates. The right cerebellum showed similar changes. Changes in the left primary sensorimotor cortex and the cerebellum likely reflect the effect of the movement rate. The posterior supplementary motor area (SMA) showed its highest activation at the very slow rates but no significant activation at the very fast rates. Changes correlating with those in the SMA were found in the anterior cingulate gyrus, right prefrontal area, and right thalamus. The decreases in CBF may reflect a progressive change in performance from reactive to predictive.

The Effects of Left Hand Fatigue on Right Hand Performance

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 643-646
Author(s):  
Marian E. Benton ◽  
Robert P. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Bicycle Ergometer ◽  
Tracking Performance ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Tracking Tasks ◽  
Significant Decrement ◽  
Crossover Fatigue ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hand Performance ◽  
The Right

Twenty-five subjects performed tracking tasks with the right arm before and after cranking a bicycle ergometer with the left arm. Three experimental conditions consisted of cranking the ergo-meter for 60, 90, and 120 seconds. The results indicate there was a significant decrement in tracking performance the first ten seconds after each of the cranking periods. By thirty seconds after cranking, tracking performance returned to pre-cranking level for each of the conditions. The decrement was not attributable to heart rate or breathing rate increases which remained for periods of up to five minutes. The crossover fatigue effect warrants further study.

Anatomy of Motor Learning. I. Frontal Cortex and Attention to Action

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1313-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jueptner ◽  
K. M. Stephan ◽  
C. D. Frith ◽  
D. J. Brooks ◽  
R.S.J. Frackowiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Critical Feature ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
New Learning ◽  
The Right

Jueptner, M., K. M. Stephan, C. D. Frith, D. J. Brooks, R.S.J. Frackowiak, and R. E. Passingham. Anatomy of motor learning. I. Frontal cortex and attention to action. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 1313–1324, 1997. We used positron emission tomography to study new learning and automatic performance in normal volunteers. Subjects learned sequences of eight finger movements by trial and error. In a previous experiment we showed that the prefrontal cortex was activated during new learning but not during automatic performance. The aim of the present experiment was to see what areas could be reactivated if the subjects performed the prelearned sequence but were required to pay attention to what they were doing. Scans were carried out under four conditions. In the first the subjects performed a prelearned sequence of eight key presses; this sequence was learned before scanning and was practiced until it had become overlearned, so that the subjects were able to perform it automatically. In the second condition the subjects learned a new sequence during scanning. In a third condition the subjects performed the prelearned sequence, but they were required to attend to what they were doing; they were instructed to think about the next movement. The fourth condition was a baseline condition. As in the earlier study, the dorsal prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate area 32 were activated during new learning, but not during automatic performance. The left dorsal prefrontal cortex and the right anterior cingulate cortex were reactivated when subjects paid attention to the performance of the prelearned sequence compared with automatic performance of the same task. It is suggested that the critical feature was that the subjects were required to attend to the preparation of their responses. However, the dorsal prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex were activated more when the subjects learned a new sequence than they were when subjects simply paid attention to a prelearned sequence. New learning differs from the attention condition in that the subjects generated moves, monitored the outcomes, and remembered the responses that had been successful. All these are nonroutine operations to which the subjects must attend. Further analysis is needed to specify which are the nonroutine operations that require the involvement of the dorsal prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex.

scholarly journals tDCS Modulation of Visually Induced Analgesia

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2419-2427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavia Mancini ◽  
Nadia Bolognini ◽  
Patrick Haggard ◽  
Giuseppe Vallar
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Body Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Analgesic Effects ◽  
Extrastriate Visual Cortex ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
The Right

Multisensory interactions can produce analgesic effects. In particular, viewing one's own body reduces pain levels, perhaps because of changes in connectivity between visual areas specialized for body representation, and sensory areas underlying pain perception. We tested the causal role of the extrastriate visual cortex in triggering visually induced analgesia by modulating the excitability of this region with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS (2 mA, 10 min) was administered to 24 healthy participants over the right occipital or over the centro-parietal areas thought to be involved in the sensory processing of pain. Participants were required to rate the intensity of painful electrical stimuli while viewing either their left hand or an object occluding the left hand, both before and immediately after tDCS. We found that the analgesic effect of viewing the body was enhanced selectively by anodal stimulation of the occipital cortex. The effect was specific for the polarity and the site of stimulation. The present results indicate that visually induced analgesia may depend on neural signals from the extrastriate visual cortex.

Positron Emission Tomography Analysis of the Analgesic Effects of Acupuncture in Rhesus Monkeys

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (05) ◽  
pp. 787-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiro Maenaka ◽  
Kaori Tano ◽  
Satoshi Nakanishi ◽  
Hideo Tsukada ◽  
Torao Ishida
Keyword(s):  
Positron Emission Tomography ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Emission Tomography ◽  
Acupuncture Analgesia ◽  
Neuronal Activation ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

The purpose of this study was to examine whether pain-induced brain activation was suppressed by acupuncture analgesia. We investigated the suppression of the pain-induced neuronal activation in specific brain areas of three male rhesus monkeys (aged four years old) using positron emission tomography (PET), in which changes in the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were examined as an index of the neuronal activation. The brain areas such as the thalamus, insula and anterior cingulate cortex were activated by heating the tail of monkeys in 47°C water compared to the heating at 37°C. Those activations were suppressed by electroacupuncture (EA) with a 2 sec alteration of the frequency of 4 Hz/60 Hz at the right ST36 (the upper anterior tibial muscle) and the right LI4 (the back palm between the first and second metacarpal) acupoints. Meanwhile, this EA analgesic effect was confirmed by prolonging the tail withdrawal latencies from hot water in the temperature range from 45 to 50°C.These brain areas were corresponded to the pain-related areas as reported in previous studies. In conclusion, we were able to visualize the acupuncture analgesia in the CNS. We also detected the brain areas activated or inactivated by acupuncture. The areas that responded to acupuncture stimulation at 47°C water were different from the regions at 37°C. We consider that this difference in the response to acupuncture may support the variation of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in patients bearing pain or other disorders.

Functional Anatomy of Perceptual and Semantic Processing for Odors

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-P. Royet ◽  
Olivier Koenig ◽  
Marie-C. Gregoire ◽  
Luc Cinotti ◽  
Frank Lavenne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Perceptual Condition ◽  
Semantic Level ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
The Right

The functional anatomy of perceptual and semantic processings for odors was studied using positron emission tomography (PET). The first experiment was a pretest in which 71 normal subjects were asked to rate 185 odorants in terms of intensity, familiarity, hedonicity, and comestibility and to name the odorants. This pretest was necessary to select the most appropriate stimuli for the different cognitive tasks of the second experiment. The second one was a PET experiment in which 15 normal subjects were scanned using the water bolus method to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during the performance in three conditions. In the first (perceptual) condition, subjects were asked to judge whether an odor was familiar or not. In the second (semantic) condition, subjects had to decide whether an odor corresponded to a comestible item or not. In the third (detection) condition, subjects had to judge whether the perceived stimulus was made of an odor or was just air. It was hypothetized that the three tasks were hierarchically organized from a superficial detection level to a deep semantic level. Odorants were presented with an air-flow olfactometer, which allowed the stimulations to be synchronized with breathing. Subtraction of activation images obtained between familiarity and control judgments revealed that familiarity judgments were mainly associated with the activity of the right orbito-frontal area, the subcallosal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate (Brodmann's areas 11, 25, 47, 9, and 32, respectively). The comestibility minus familiarity comparison showed that comestibility judgments selectively activated the primary visual areas. In contrast, a decrease in rCBF was observed in these same visual areas for familiarity judgments and in the orbitofrontal area for comestibility judgments. These results suggest that orbito-frontal and visual regions interact in odor processing in a complementary way, depending on the task requirements.

Hand Differences and Reported Intensity of Nociceptive Stimuli

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 411-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Adam Long
Keyword(s):  
Pain Perception ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Pain Sensation ◽  
Brain Dominance ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right And Left Hands

The hypothesis tested in the present study was that subjects would report higher intensity of heat-pain sensation for the left hand than for the right given right-brain dominance for negative emotion and tactual sensitivity. Low, medium, and high temperatures (42°, 45°, and 48° C, respectively) were presented to 20 healthy subjects' left and right forearms, wrists, and backs of hands. Using a modified magnitude-estimation scale, subjects rated the intensity of “heat-discomfort” that they felt following each 5-sec. stimulus presentation. Mean magnitude estimations for the left-and right-hand responses to high, medium, and low heat were analyzed using a 2 × 3 totally within-subjects analysis of variance. No significant differences between the right and left hands were observed for intensity of pain perception.

Functional Neuroanatomy of Recall and Recognition: A PET Study of Episodic Memory

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Cabeza ◽  
Shitij Kapur ◽  
Fergus I. M. Craik ◽  
Anthony R. McIntosh ◽  
Sylvain Houle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Neuroanatomy ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Inferior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Flow Activation ◽  
Stored Information ◽  
The Right

The purpose of this study was to directly compare the brain regions involved in episodic-memory recall and recognition. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow were measured by positron emission tomography while young healthy test persons were either recognizing or recalling previously studied word pairs. Reading of previously nonstudied pairs served as a reference task for subtractive comparisons. Compared to reading, both recall and recognition were associated with higher blood flow (activation) at identical sites in the right prefrontal cortex (areas 47, 45, and 10) and the anterior cingulate. Compared to recognition, recall was associated with higher activation in the anterior cingulate, globus pallidus, thalamus, and cerebellum, suggesting that these components of the cerebello-frontal pathway play a role in recall processes that they do not in recognition. Compared to recall, recognition was associated with higher activation in the right inferior parietal cortex (areas 39, 40, and 19), suggesting a larger perceptual component in recognition than in recall. Contrary to the expectations based on lesion data, the activations of the frontal regions were indistinguishable in recall and recognition. This finding is consistent with the notion that frontal activations in explicit memory tasks are related to the general episodic retrieval mode or retrieval attempt, rather than to specific mechanisms of ecphory (recovery of stored information).

Hypnosis Modulates Activity in Brain Structures Involved in the Regulation of Consciousness

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 887-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Rainville ◽  
Robert K. Hofbauer ◽  
M. Catherine Bushnell ◽  
Gary H. Duncan ◽  
Donald D. Price
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Hypnotic Induction ◽  
Attentional System ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Pet Scans

The notion of consciousness is at the core of an ongoing debate on the existence and nature of hypnotic states. Previously, we have described changes in brain activity associated with hypnosis (Rainville, Hofbauer, Paus, Duncan, Bushnell, & Price, 1999). Here, we replicate and extend those findings using positron emission tomography (PET) in 10 normal volunteers. Immediately after each of 8 PET scans performed before (4 scans) and after (4 scans) the induction of hypnosis, subjects rated their perceived level of “mental relaxation” and “mental absorption,” two of the key dimensions describing the experience of being hypnotized. Regression analyses between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and self-ratings confirm the hypothesized involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the thalamus, and the ponto-mesencephalic brainstem in the production of hypnotic states. Hypnotic relaxation further involved an increase in occipital rCBF that is consistent with our previous interpretation that hypnotic states are characterized by a decrease in cortical arousal and a reduction in cross-modality suppression (disinhibition). In contrast, increases in mental absorption during hypnosis were associated with rCBF increases in a distributed network of cortical and subcortical structures previously described as the brain's attentional system. These findings are discussed in support of a state theory of hypnosis in which the basic changes in phenomenal experience produced by hypnotic induction reflect, at least in part, the modulation of activity within brain areas critically involved in the regulation of consciousness.

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