February 2025
Swiss researchers have discovered that both mild and deep states of hypnosis entail significant changes in the large-scale functional networks of the brain.
Their work across three hypnosis studies, which has been published in Cortex (2024) and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2023), has illuminated part of the mystery of this phenomena. The finding of two states of hypnosis and the brain activity within them are significant, notes the journal MedicalXpress.
Describing different states of consciousness is one of the biggest challenges in neurobiology. Evidence as to whether hypnosis is an extraordinary state of human consciousness or simply the subject’s imagination has been lacking, although psychotherapists have long embraced this modality.
While hypnotherapy is an established mainstream intervention in psychology and psychiatry for depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among others, there’s also evidence it can alleviate physical pain.
In one 2018 Swiss case, a metal plate that had been stabilising a patient’s wrist after an injury was removed without the use of any anaesthetics or pain relief. The patient received only hypnotherapy and – to the amazement of the surgical team – experienced no pain either during or after the operation. The university hospital in Geneva offers clinical hypnosis as a complement to conventional treatments.
While the ‘how’ of hypnosis still stymies scientists, there’s no doubt of its uptake: The global hypnotherapy market was sized at more than $12 billion in 2023 and is projected to surpass $80 million in 2030, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.
Anders Bolling & Liza Horan
