Hypnotic induction and ideomotor suggestions reorganize brain connectivity and subjective experience in distinct ways. Using EEG, cardiorespiratory monitoring, and first-person reports, the study tracked changes across resting baseline, hypnotic induction, and an ideomotor challenge (suggested arm rigidity versus voluntary simulation). Induction produced gradual parieto-occipital alpha suppression, increased theta activity, enhanced frontoparietal theta connectivity, and reduced parasympathetic cardiac modulation, indicating active top-down network reorganization. During the ideomotor challenge, participants fell into two behavioral groups—tremblers and non-tremblers—despite both reporting disrupted agency. Tremblers showed increased frontoparietal gamma and reduced delta connectivity, consistent with enhanced sensorimotor prediction error signaling under motor conflict. The findings support predictive coding and dissociation accounts of agency disruption.
Hypnosis actively reshapes brain networks and subjective experience, rather than simply inducing a passive, low-arousal state. Using EEG, respiratory monitoring, and first-person reports across resting, hypnotic induction, and ideomotor task conditions, the study found that light hypnosis involved early alpha suppression and increased theta activity in parieto-occipital regions. Deeper hypnosis increased frontoparietal theta connectivity while parasympathetic activation declined. During an ideomotor task, participants fell into two groups: Tremblers, who attempted movement despite feeling involuntary constraint, and Non-Tremblers, who refrained from acting due to perceived impossibility. Tremblers showed increased frontoparietal gamma and reduced delta connectivity, indicating heightened sensorimotor integration and executive monitoring under motor conflict. These findings support predictive coding accounts of agency disruption and highlight the value of neurophenomenological methods.
Breath-holding duration increases across repeated trials regardless of whether a person imagines normal breathing or focuses on the sensation of holding their breath. Hypnotizability, imagery abilities, and interoceptive sensibility together influence this improvement and the accompanying subjective experience and autonomic responses. In 33 healthy participants classified as low-to-medium or medium-to-high hypnotizables, breath-holding duration grew with practice under both cognitive conditions. Heart rate rose more during motor imagery than during internally focused attention, while skin conductance decreased similarly in both tasks. Individual differences in imagery and interoceptive awareness masked any direct effect of hypnotizability on the experience and heart rate changes.