Abstract
Hypnosis techniques are currently used in the medical field and directly influences the patient's state of relaxation, perception of the body, and its visual imagination. There is evidence to suggest that a hypnotic state may help patients to better achieve tasks of motor imagination, which is central in the rehabilitation protocols after a stroke. However, the hypnosis techniques could also alter activity in the motor cortex. To the best of our knowledge, the impact of hypnosis on the EEG signal during a movement or an imagined movement is poorly investigated. In particular, how event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) patterns would be modulated for different motor tasks may provide a better understanding of the potential benefits of hypnosis for stroke rehabilitation. To investigate this purpose, we recorded EEG signals from 23 healthy volunteers who performed real movements and motor imageries in a closed eye condition. Our results suggest that the state of hypnosis changes the sensorimotor beta rhythm during the ERD phase but maintains the ERS phase in the mu and beta frequency band, suggesting a different activation of the motor cortex in a hypnotized state.
Highlights
Hypnosis has been the subject of many debates or misunderstandings and its definition has constantly changed over time with currents of ideas or trends (Salem and Bonvin, 2012)
Our results show that the hypnosis technique significantly altered both the subject’s subjective perceptions during the experiment and the event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) modulations resulting from motor tasks in the electroencephalographic signal (EEG) signal
In opposition to our hypothesis, the results show that hypnosis during real movement can significantly reduce ERD during motor performance (Figures 4A,B), while the rebound, both in terms of amplitude and delay, is unchanged after a hypnotic suggestion
Summary
Hypnosis has been the subject of many debates or misunderstandings and its definition has constantly changed over time with currents of ideas or trends (Salem and Bonvin, 2012). Induction and suggestion procedures allow subjects to imagine experiences and gestures as real events (Konradt et al, 2005) Based on these findings, hypnosis can modulate cognitive processes (i.e., perceptual, motor, emotional) by producing observable behavioral changes and subjective experiences (Landry et al, 2017). Hypnosis leads the hypnotized person to relaxation, a change in perceptions of the body and/or the environment, an increased imagination, and careful control (Spiegel and Spiegel, 1978; Rainville et al, 2002; Oakley and Halligan, 2013).
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