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Analysis of Electrophysiological
State Patterns and Changes During
Hypnosis Induction
a a
Thilo Hinterberger , Julian Schöner & Ulrike Halsband
b
a
University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany
b
University of Freiburg, Germany
To cite this article: Thilo Hinterberger, Julian Schöner & Ulrike Halsband (2011): Analysis
of Electrophysiological State Patterns and Changes During Hypnosis Induction, International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 59:2, 165-179
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Intl. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 59(2): 165–179, 2011
Copyright © International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
ISSN: 0020-7144 print / 1744-5183 online
DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2011.546188
ANALYSIS OF ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL
STATE PATTERNS AND CHANGES DURING
HYPNOSIS INDUCTION1
Thilo Hinterberger and Julian Schöner2
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Ulrike Halsband
University of Freiburg, Germany
Hypnosis originates from the Greek word hypnos meaning sleep, but
today’s neurophysiological research supports the distinction between
normal waking consciousness, sleep, and hypnosis (Halsband, in
press). Hypnosis is not one single construct but consists of several ele-
ments such as focused attention, an awareness of internal images, a
reduced ability to think critically as well as a heightened compliance
Samueli Institute for Information Biology (SIIB, CA, USA), and the Beckley Foundation
(Oxford, UK). The studies on hypnosis were supported for UH by the Milton H. Erickson
Gesellschaft für Klinische Hypnose e.V. (MEG, Germany), the Milton Erickson Stiftung
(Germany), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zahnärztliche Hypnose e.V. (DGZH), and the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hypnose und Hypnotherapie e.V. (DGH).
2 Address correspondence to Thilo Hinterberger, Institut für Umweltmedizin und
165
166 THILO HINTERBERGER ET AL.
Experimental Procedure
To uncover the physiological changes in electrical brain dynamics
during a hypnosis session, 64 channels of EEG plus peripheral phys-
iological measures were recorded in 1 highly susceptible participant
(male/aged 25). The participant was seated on a chair approximately 1
meter in front of the hypnotist. The recordings were carried out using
a 72-channel QuickAmp EEG amplifier system (Brainproducts GmbH,
Munich, Germany) and a 64-channel electrode cap with actively
shielded Ag/AgCl electrodes (ANT, Netherlands). EEG was recorded
from DC to 70 Hz at a sampling rate of 250 S/s and a resolution of 0.07
microvolt. Peripheral measures were the electrocardiogram (ECG) for
determining the heart rate, vertical and horizontal eye movements for
artifact correction, respiration, and skin conductance response (SCR)
from the nondominant hand.
For statistical analysis, the EEG data were first corrected for eye
movements; phases with large amplitude movement artifacts were
removed from the analysis. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was applied
using a window size of 2 seconds. The resulting Fourier amplitudes
were converted into spectral power by squaring. The power spectral
density (PSD) in the bands of interest was defined as the mean of the
Fourier coefficients of 4 to 7.5 Hz (theta band), 8 to 12 Hz (alpha band),
12 to 16 Hz (sensory motor rhythm [SMR] or beta 1 band), 16 to 25 Hz
(beta band), and 25.5 to 70 Hz (gamma band). The region from 47 to
53 Hz was ignored due to the possible 50 Hz humming artifact. The
168 THILO HINTERBERGER ET AL.
question in this study centered on the state changes during the session
rather than on absolute values. Therefore, the PSD was converted into
relative changes to a baseline. In this case, the baseline was defined
as the EEG during the first 2 minutes of the introduction phase of the
session because the EEG patterns remained nearly homogeneously con-
stant during that time. A relative PSD-change measure was defined as
the log2 of the PSD divided by the median PSD during the baseline
phase, that is, the first 2 minutes of the recording.
The 26-minute hypnosis induction session followed a predefined
written instruction manual. The instruction could be subdivided into 11
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Table 1
For the Analysis the Hypnosis Session Was Subdivided into 11 Phases for Comparison
With Each Other
Results
to the baseline are shown in yellow/red while the decreases are coded
in blue/green. A color scale value of 2 means a four times higher PSD
compared to the baseline PSD while –2 would be 1/4 of the baseline
PSD. Taking a first look at the spectrogram one can see several occur-
rences of various significant changes during the session that are often
synchronous to the phase limits as listed in Table 1. The alpha PSD, for
example, sometimes showed increases of about 30 times the baseline
PSD (power of +5 in the spectrogram) with peak values of more than
100. The spectrograms show the changes of each of the 64 electrodes in
vertical order. Thus, global sudden state changes are visible as vertical
colored lines while horizontal lines indicate local changes with a longer
duration. The topographic plots in Figure 2 show the spatial distribu-
tion of the PSD changes relatively to baseline. The color coding values
range from 1/10 to 10 times the global reference PSD during the first 2
minutes of the induction.
In the following, the specific changes in each phase are reported.
The session began with the participant’s eyes open and consisted of
an auto-focusing task in which he was instructed to fix his eyes on a
spot and afterward release. Physiologically, this process was accompa-
nied by strong and frequent fluctuations in skin conductance, however,
also with a rather uniform course in all EEG bands. The gamma band
showed some fluctuations and towards the end of the introduction
phase theta and gamma power started to increase slightly. One should
also notice the heightened gamma activity in the right frontotempo-
ral area. At minute 3:25, the participant closed his eyes and then was
slowly guided into physical relaxation. When he closed his eyes, his
whole physiology changed. The skin conductance response quieted
almost immediately and the respiration rate dropped from about 10
to 12 cycles/minutes. to about 6 cycles/minutes. Both measures stayed
constantly low for the next 7 minutes of relaxation. Simultaneously, the
EEG power in all frequency bands increased dramatically. The biggest
increase could be seen in the parietal and occipital region of the alpha,
SMR, and also the beta band (about 10 times higher than baseline). The
increase in theta and gamma activity returned to baseline values for
some time during that phase but again increased. This phase ended at
170 THILO HINTERBERGER ET AL.
20
40 0
60 –5
5 10 15 20 25
5
20
Beta
40 0
60 –5
5 10 15 20 25
5
SMR
20
40 0
60 –5
5 10 15 20 25
5
Alpha
20
40 0
60 –5
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5 10 15 20 25
5
Theta
20
40 0
60 –5
5 10 15 20 25
reference Time/min
Figure 1. Spectrogram of the standardized band power (PSD) of the five most interesting
frequency bands. The first 2 minutes of the trance induction did not show relevant
changes and therefore served as reference for the standardization (PSDref). Color
coding ranges from –5 to 5 in units of the log2(PSD/PSDref).
1
SMR
–1
Alpha
Theta
0 reference 5 10 15 20 25
Time/min
Figure 2. The topographies of the mean activity in each phase from the displayed spectro-
grams in Figure 1 are shown for the five frequency bands. The same color coding
as in Figure 1 was used, here in the range between –1 and 1 in units of log10
(PSD/PSDglobalref).
6:30 with the instruction to feel the body in its own harmony and then to
forget all sensation and sink deeper. During this instruction starting the
fostering of a mental relaxation, one can see another highly significant
change in EEG activity. Both theta and gamma activity calmed down
to values lower than baseline. The most predominant decrease could
be seen almost globally in the gamma range whereas the right fron-
totemporal gamma activation disappeared. The alpha rhythm, SMR,
and beta activity decreased over sensory motor areas and remained
EEG CHANGES DURING HYPNOSIS 171
rest. This might have caused an intense sensation and possibly excite-
ment; however, the EEG did not show any significant changes at that
moment except for a slightly further decrease in sensory motor alpha
power. The left arm began to lift up from the armrest from minute
12:00 on. The process of levitation itself (taking a few seconds only) did
not exhibit visible state changes in the EEG and peripheral measures.
However, when comparing the mappings in Figure 2 before the levita-
tion and after, one can see an increase in frontal and parietal/occipital
alpha and SMR power while the activity especially over the right motor
cortex (motor area of the left arm) remained decreased. This represents
a typical SMR desynchronization that can usually be measured dur-
ing an actual or just imagined arm or hand movement (Pfurtscheller &
Aranibar, 1977). On the left hemisphere this decrease was shifted pari-
etally towards the primary sensory cortex. The strong central gamma
decrease continued in that phase. The arm levitation induction ended
with a story of a rising balloon touching the clouds. Here, the uplifting
imagination ended with a picture in which the participant should give
his ballast to the clouds, which became heavier and heavier leading
to a fruitful rain. At that time the increased respiration rate dropped
back from 20 to 10 cycles per minute (Figure 3 at minute 14:20). The
increased SCR already returned to normal values with the beginning of
that balloon story indicating a calming of the arousal level. The heart
rate variability reached its smallest values during this arm levitation
phase.
The participant was then given a suggestion to go deeper into a
trance state. Due to the strong change in EEG activity after step 5 of
10, we decided to report those two phases separately. This was the only
post hoc definition of the analysis boundaries. In the first half of the
trance induction, the overall activity homogeneously increased very
little only while roughly maintaining the power distribution of the pre-
vious phase. Here, the PSD intensity and distribution in all frequency
bands were very similar to the phase of mental relaxation before minute
10. However, after count 5 the EEG activity unexpectedly increased
globally in all frequency bands. The PSD increased steadily for about 1
minute and reached its peak intensity at count 10. The intensity reached
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172
40 120
30 100
20 80
Heart Rate
Respiration
10 60
0 40
1000
500
SCR
–500
–1000
0 5 10 15 20 25
THILO HINTERBERGER ET AL.
Time/min
Figure 3. The skin conductance response (SCR, bottom), respiration frequency (top, blue), and heart rate (top, red) are depicted for the entire hypnosis
session. The heart rate variability synchronized by the breathing rhythm is also visible very nicely.
EEG CHANGES DURING HYPNOSIS 173
quiet for about half a minute. During that time, the strong PSD level
remained high and decreased within a few seconds to an activation
picture again very similar to the phase of mental relaxation but slightly
increased in power. During the following story of an eagle, the trance
anchoring this typical heightened activation pattern became even more
prominent. While the theta activity returned to its reference level from
the beginning of the session, the alpha, SMR, beta, and gamma band
activity reached increased values in the occipital area of up to 10 times
as well as the parietal alpha and SMR. The frontal and central alpha
also reached an increased level up to five times over several minutes
until the termination phase. During the termination phase, overall, the
activation levels again dropped back to values of the mental relaxation
state. The alpha and SMR decrease over the both sensorimotor areas
especially the right hemispheric left hand area reappeared while the
subject moved his arm down to the arm rest. The heart rate and respi-
ration frequency increased and huge SCR changes were associated with
the process of returning to a normal wake state. Directly after opening
his eyes, the EEG was still in an altered state compared to the begin-
ning of the session. This state was characterized by a central, frontal,
and parietal decrease in activity in all frequency bands while predom-
inantly higher frequencies showed strongly increased PSD values over
left and right frontal and temporal areas.
Discussion
Through this method of a time-resolved spectrographic illustration,
it could be shown that numerous more or less significant physiological
state changes occur during a hypnotic trance induction session. Those
changes can be visualized after referencing the spectral power values
to a baseline. Surprisingly often, state changes were in line with the
boundaries of the instruction phases indicating that certain instructions
led to distinct physiological changes.
The heightened alpha rhythm, SMR, and beta activity over sen-
sory motor areas during the physical relaxation phase possibly indicate
174 THILO HINTERBERGER ET AL.
responsive subject, the left arm rose upwards “all by itself” with-
out any awareness of conscious intention to move the arm. In other
words, self-induced movements are attributed to an external source.
Our results are in agreement with the PET-study by Blakemore et al.
(2003) who reported differential brain activity in a deluded passive
movement condition where subjects attributed the movements to an
external source as compared to an identical active movement. The
authors concluded that as a result of hypnotic suggestion, the func-
tioning of a cerebellar-parietal network is altered so that self-produced
actions are experienced as being external.
The decreased frontal beta and gamma power from the phase
of mental relaxation can be interpreted as a deep mental relaxation
state. The wide spread gamma decrease and simultaneously a gamma
increase in occipital and temporal areas seem to be indicative for the
hypnotic state with the exception of the trance state at the end of the
step-by-step induction. Further investigations should test whether this
could be valid for other subjects, too.
The strong overall PSD increase at the end of the stepwise trance
induction seemed to be a real EEG effect not caused by movement arti-
facts. We were able to watch the participants’ facial expression at all
times. Also, a video recording that showed the participants’ face did
not show any significant muscle tension or movements during that
phase. Interestingly, this probably highly aroused brain state did not
show many significant SCR changes indicating that this trance state
was probably not an emotionally aroused state. On one hand, one
might associate the brain dynamics to a highly relaxed state derived
from the presence of strong alpha and theta rhythms. On the other
hand, the strongly increased broad band activity including the beta and
gamma range would suggest that more likely the brain switched into a
highly activated state that indicated an extremely unusual altered brain
state. The step-by-step-induction is a technique in which the hypno-
tized person goes deeper and deeper into hypnotic trance. In our study,
the subject was instructed to go on an imaginary journey in hypnosis.
The further the participant had to walk in imagination downstairs the
deeper was the level of experienced hypnotic trance. There is evidence
that imagined movements under hypnosis are experienced as “real”
EEG CHANGES DURING HYPNOSIS 175
disappeared during the hypnotic states returned after the end of the
session but then associated with a similar left hemispheric activation
leading to a highly symmetric picture. The predominantly left temporal
and frontal gamma increase after opening the eyes could be associated
with a heightened awareness combined with relaxation (see also the
similarity to the physical relaxation state).
The most dominant brain patterns can be summarized as follows:
• The increased left and right parietal and occipital alpha as well as the
central parietal SMR and beta increase can be associated to the closed-
eyes condition.
• Alpha and SMR desynchronization is strongest in phases of the arm
levitation due to motor execution and/or imagination—probably even
unconscious processes affect the µ-rhythm desynchronization.
• The major hypnotic state seems to be characterized by an increased
frontal alpha, a decreased central, frontal, and parietal gamma in both
hemispheres, and an increased occipital gamma.
• A state in deep hypnotic trance occurred that was characterized by a
strong overall heightened activity in all frequency bands.
• The wake state after the hypnosis session still can be regarded as an
altered state compared to the baseline at the beginning. It showed a
reduced activity over all frequency bands in large central, frontal, and
parietal areas, while gamma in temporal and left and right prefrontal
areas was strongly increased. The activation pattern was very symmet-
ric. This might be the characteristics of a highly relaxed but mindful wake
state.
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