Hypnosis is "real" in that your brain state does change while you're under hypnosis.
med.stanford.edu
Spiegel and his colleagues discovered three hallmarks of the brain under hypnosis. Each change was seen only in the highly hypnotizable group and only while they were undergoing hypnosis.
First, they saw a decrease in activity in an area called the dorsal anterior cingulate, part of the brain’s salience network. “In hypnosis, you’re so absorbed that you’re not worrying about anything else,” Spiegel explained.
Secondly, they saw an increase in connections between two other areas of the brain — the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula. He described this as a brain-body connection that helps the brain process and control what’s going on in the body.
Finally, Spiegel’s team also observed reduced connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network, which includes the medial prefrontal and the posterior cingulate cortex. This decrease in functional connectivity likely represents a disconnect between someone’s actions and their awareness of their actions, Spiegel said. “When you’re really engaged in something, you don’t really think about doing it — you just do it,” he said. During hypnosis, this kind of disassociation between action and reflection allows the person to engage in activities either suggested by a clinician or self-suggested without devoting mental resources to being self-conscious about the activity.
In the study they note that only 10% of the population is "highly hypnotizable". All of those changes were found in the highly hypnotizable group, but not in the control group.
Now, what impact does it have? Well, it doesn't actually put you under selective amnesia - people under hypnosis still remember what occurred during that time, though they may have had reduced awareness (like zoning out while watching a movie). People can't be forced to do things against their will, though they are more susceptible to suggestions than they would be when fully conscious. And no one else can put you under hypnosis (like Get Out style), hypnosis is something your brain does to itself. A hypnotist is guiding you into hypnosis but you have to participate in it to make it work.
What it does do is remove your filters. You're not aware of your outside environment, you're not aware of distractions, and you might not have second-thoughts or that "internal monitor" that second-guesses yourself when you make bad decisions. It's sort of similar to being drunk or mob mentality, when a bunch of people just go along with the flow without considering the consequences or other factors the way they normally would. It can even cause you to have less awareness of pain.
I've seen hypnosis a couple of times, at a Knotts Scary Farm performance and at a high school. I knew the kids in the high school one and it definitely wasn't pre-orchestrated. They might have been going along with shyt, but there was one very uncomfortable moment that two of the kids involved were upset about afterwards and I'm sure they wouldn't have agreed to do if they were fully aware.
Study identifies brain areas altered during hypnotic trances
By scanning the brains of subjects while they were hypnotized, researchers at the School of Medicine were able to see the neural changes associated with hypnosis.
med.stanford.edu
Spiegel and his colleagues discovered three hallmarks of the brain under hypnosis. Each change was seen only in the highly hypnotizable group and only while they were undergoing hypnosis.
First, they saw a decrease in activity in an area called the dorsal anterior cingulate, part of the brain’s salience network. “In hypnosis, you’re so absorbed that you’re not worrying about anything else,” Spiegel explained.
Secondly, they saw an increase in connections between two other areas of the brain — the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula. He described this as a brain-body connection that helps the brain process and control what’s going on in the body.
Finally, Spiegel’s team also observed reduced connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network, which includes the medial prefrontal and the posterior cingulate cortex. This decrease in functional connectivity likely represents a disconnect between someone’s actions and their awareness of their actions, Spiegel said. “When you’re really engaged in something, you don’t really think about doing it — you just do it,” he said. During hypnosis, this kind of disassociation between action and reflection allows the person to engage in activities either suggested by a clinician or self-suggested without devoting mental resources to being self-conscious about the activity.
In the study they note that only 10% of the population is "highly hypnotizable". All of those changes were found in the highly hypnotizable group, but not in the control group.
Now, what impact does it have? Well, it doesn't actually put you under selective amnesia - people under hypnosis still remember what occurred during that time, though they may have had reduced awareness (like zoning out while watching a movie). People can't be forced to do things against their will, though they are more susceptible to suggestions than they would be when fully conscious. And no one else can put you under hypnosis (like Get Out style), hypnosis is something your brain does to itself. A hypnotist is guiding you into hypnosis but you have to participate in it to make it work.
What it does do is remove your filters. You're not aware of your outside environment, you're not aware of distractions, and you might not have second-thoughts or that "internal monitor" that second-guesses yourself when you make bad decisions. It's sort of similar to being drunk or mob mentality, when a bunch of people just go along with the flow without considering the consequences or other factors the way they normally would. It can even cause you to have less awareness of pain.
I've seen hypnosis a couple of times, at a Knotts Scary Farm performance and at a high school. I knew the kids in the high school one and it definitely wasn't pre-orchestrated. They might have been going along with shyt, but there was one very uncomfortable moment that two of the kids involved were upset about afterwards and I'm sure they wouldn't have agreed to do if they were fully aware.
