Abstract
Suggestion has been defined as a form of communicable ideation or belief, that once accepted has the capacity to exert profound changes on a person's mood, thoughts, perceptions and behaviors (Halligan and Oakley, 2014). The prefrontal region (the region of the frontal cortex anterior to the motor areas) of the human cerebral cortex appears to play an important role in suggestion (Asp et al., 2012). Children, with still-developing prefrontal cortices, are more susceptible to suggestion (Ceci et al., 1987; Bruck and Ceci, 1995). Older adults, who experience atrophy of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a result of the normal processes of aging, are also more open to suggestion (Cohen and Faulkner, 1989). Damasio (1994) described how patients with damage to the PFC are more vulnerable to “snake-oil” salesmen and disreputable characters. Asp et al. (2012) showed that patients with ventromedial PFC damage were more likely to believe in misleading advertisements. The role of the frontal cortices in suggestion fits with the putative role of the prefrontal cortex in the control of thought and behavior (Miller and Cohen, 2001).
Highlights
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Consciousness Research, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
They compared various forms of suggestion in an attempt to elucidate shared underlying psychological properties. They have noted the growing interest in hypnosis and hypnotic suggestion following the application of methods of cognitive neuroscience to the study of these and related phenomena (Oakley and Halligan, 2009)
The contributions of the prefrontal cortex to hypnosis and placebo effects will be described in an attempt to highlight how methods of cognitive neuroscience might complement other approaches when investigating different forms of suggestion
Summary
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Consciousness Research, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. They have noted the growing interest in hypnosis and hypnotic suggestion following the application of methods of cognitive neuroscience to the study of these and related phenomena (Oakley and Halligan, 2009).
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