Cited by 246Pain Management and Placebo EffectFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeural dynamics and brain function

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 79 of the 79 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 26 of the 56 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Associated with Hypnosis

Open access

Abstract

Hypnosis has proven clinical utility, yet changes in brain activity underlying the hypnotic state have not yet been fully identified. Previous research suggests that hypnosis is associated with decreased default mode network (DMN) activity and that high hypnotizability is associated with greater functional connectivity between the executive control network (ECN) and the salience network (SN). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate activity and functional connectivity among these three networks in hypnosis. We selected 57 of 545 healthy subjects with very high or low hypnotizability using two hypnotizability scales. All subjects underwent four conditions in the scanner: rest, memory retrieval, and two different hypnosis experiences guided by standard pre-recorded instructions in counterbalanced order. Seeds for the ECN, SN, and DMN were left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), respectively. During hypnosis there was reduced activity in the dACC, increased functional connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC;ECN) and the insula in the SN, and reduced connectivity between the ECN (DLPFC) and the DMN (PCC). These changes in neural activity underlie the focused attention, enhanced somatic and emotional control, and lack of self-consciousness that characterizes hypnosis.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This fMRI study compared highly hypnotizable and minimally hypnotizable healthy adults during hypnosis and control conditions, focusing on executive control, salience, and default mode networks. Hypnosis in highs was linked to lower dACC activity, stronger DLPFC-insula coupling, and weaker DLPFC-default mode connectivity, with effects tracking reported hypnotic depth.

Key findings

  • Among high hypnotizables, hypnosis reduced dACC fALFF relative to rest; the group-by-condition interaction was significant, and greater reported hypnotic intensity correlated with lower dACC fALFF (figure reports r = -0.72; TFCE P < 0.001 uncorrected). dACC activity decreased in a graded way across hypnosis, memory, and rest for highs, while lows showed the reverse pattern.
  • Highs showed increased functional connectivity between left DLPFC and ipsilateral insula plus contralateral supramarginal gyrus during hypnosis vs rest compared with lows (P < 0.05, GRF corrected). Within highs, left DLPFC-insula and right DLPFC-bilateral insula connectivity increased during hypnosis vs rest; insula, middle frontal, and superior parietal clusters correlated positively with hypnosis ratings.
  • As hypnosis intensity increased among all 36 highs, connectivity between bilateral DLPFC and default mode regions (PCC, contralateral IPL, mPFC) decreased during hypnosis; this decoupling was not seen during rest or memory. Connectivity within the DMN itself was not altered by hypnosis.
  • Lows showed no significant hypnosis-vs-rest connectivity differences for either DLPFC seed.

Methods

  • 545 healthy participants were screened with HGSHS:A and HIP; 36 highs and 21 lows were scanned. Between-group fMRI analyses used 21 highs with the highest hypnosis ratings matched to 21 lows; covariate analyses used all 36 highs.
  • Four counterbalanced 8-min fMRI conditions were used: rest, autobiographical memory, hypnotic happiness, and hypnotic vacation, with standardized pre-recorded instructions/inductions. Scanning was on a 3T GE scanner with 31 axial slices, TR = 2000 ms, TE = 30 ms.
  • Analyses included fALFF for regional spontaneous activity and seed-based functional connectivity with left/right DLPFC, dACC, and PCC seeds, using FSL, TFCE, and GRF cluster correction; physiological and movement covariates were checked.

Limitations

  • The paper notes that some secondary findings were uncorrected for multiple comparisons, including the dACC fALFF correlation with hypnotic intensity and the group interaction at P < 0.001; the right DLPFC-insula interaction did not survive correction, and PCC/dACC seed group-by-condition comparisons did not survive correction.
  • The paper reports that the memory control condition unexpectedly produced network changes resembling hypnosis, so it may not have served as a clean control; the authors suggest any focused task in highs might induce similar changes.
  • Evident from the text: between-group analyses relied on 21 highs and 21 lows, with all 36 highs used only for within-group covariate analyses; participants were healthy volunteers selected at the extremes of hypnotizability, so generalizability is limited. The paper does not present a formal limitations section.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/cercor/bhw220

Cites

79 of 79 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

20 tests recomputed · 0 with the reported and recomputed p on opposite sides of .05

Verification

Claims the paper makes

47 Own result · 16 No full text of the sources · 13 Own interpretation · 10 Partly supported · 10 Own method · 8 Supported · 2 No basis given · 1 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Not checked yet · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 63 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 16
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 36
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
45 of 45
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Self-reported intensity of hypnotic experience is a valid measure of the depth of hypnosis.

    “All subjects were asked to rate on a scale of 1-10 how hypnotized they felt during each of the two hypnotic scans, with one indicating”
    “As a manipulation check, at the end of each condition subjects rated how hypnotized (or drowsy, in the rest and autobiographical memory scans) they felt on a scale of 1-4 using a button box.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The two hypnosis conditions, hypnotic happiness and hypnotic vacation, both induce a common hypnotic state that can be averaged to index hypnosis.

    “We chose to structure the content of the two hypnosis conditions rather than simply provide an hypnotic induction with no further guidance.”
    “beta values for the two hypnosis conditions were averaged after regression for each subject”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Post-scan intensity of hypnosis ratings validly measure the subjective intensity of hypnosis.

    “Hypnotic response scores correlate with fALFF: blue regions show decreasing fractional amplitude during hypnosis relative to rest as post-scan intensity of hypnosis ratings increases, among all 36 highs.”
    “Connectivity during the two hypnotic states (averaged across happy/vacation) covaried with mean intensity of hypnosis ratings for 36 highs: regions in blue exhibit decreased FC with left (A) and right (B) DLPFC among subjects who felt more hypnotized.”
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Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics that don’t add up

Each reported p-value recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom.

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Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 1.54reported p = .21 · recomputed p = .219

    “F(3,40) = 1.54,p = .21”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 1.36reported p = .26 · recomputed p = .269

    “F(3,40) = 1.36,p = .26”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 1.23reported p = .3 · recomputed p = .311

    “F(3,40) = 1.23,p = .30”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 0.69reported p = .55 · recomputed p = .564

    “F(3,40) = 0.69, p = .55”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 1.49reported p = .22 · recomputed p = .232

    “F(3,40) = 1.49,p = .22”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 40) = 1.65reported p = .18 · recomputed p = .193

    “F(3,40) = 1.65,p = .18”

  • Not confirmedF(3, 40) = 1.01reported p = .39 · recomputed p = .398

    “F(3,40) = 1.01,p = .39”

  • ConsistentF(1, 40) = 0.51reported p = .48 · recomputed p = .479

    “F(1,40) = 0.51, p = .48”

  • ConsistentF(3, 40) = 16.24reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(3,40) = 16.24,p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(1, 40) = 0.04reported p = .84 · recomputed p = .842

    “F(1,40) = 0.04, p = .84”

  • Consistentt(40) = 4.14reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(40) = 4.14, p < .001”

  • Consistentt(40) = 6.24reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(40) = 6.24,p < .001”

  • Consistentt(40) = 5.45reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(40) = 5.45, p < .001”

  • Consistentt(40) = 2.33reported p = .02 · recomputed p = .025

    “t(40) = 2.33, p = .02”

  • Consistentt(40) = 2.37reported p = .02 · recomputed p = .023

    “t(40) = 2.37, p = .02”

  • ConsistentF(1, 40) = 2.27reported p = .14 · recomputed p = .140

    “F(1,40) = 2.27, p = .14”

  • ConsistentF(3, 40) = 0.44reported p = .72 · recomputed p = .726

    “F(3,40) = 0.44, p = .72”

  • ConsistentF(1, 40) = 0.01reported p = .92 · recomputed p = .921

    “F(1,40) = 0.01, p = .92”

  • ConsistentF(1, 40) = 0.56reported p = .46 · recomputed p = .459

    “F (1,40) = 0.56, p = .46”

  • ConsistentF(3, 40) = 0.27reported p = .85 · recomputed p = .847

    “F(3,40) = 0.27, p = .85”

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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

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Metadata

Authors
Jiang, H., White, M. P., Greicius, M. D., Waelde, L. C., & Spiegel, D.
Affiliations
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Palo Alto University (US)
Corresponding author
Spiegel, David
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Published
2016-07-28
Volume
27
Issue
8
Pages
4083-4093
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
OpenAlex
W2484956421
Cited by
246
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 72 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 3
FWCI
7.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (P41-EB015891)
  • National Institute of Biomedical imaging and Bioengineering
  • Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, and the Nissan Research Center
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
Keywords
hypnosis, hypnotic susceptibility, default mode network, frontoparietal network, salience network, functional connectivity, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, insula, memory retrieval, focused attention, self-consciousness
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Hypnosis, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Mental Recall, Rest, Young Adult

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