In a new study, anesthesiologists used functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe how hypnosis might reduce pain by altering brain activity. The researchers subjected patients to a painful burning stimuli while their brains were scanned. The fMRIs of the patients under hypnosis for pain suppression showed "reduced activity in areas of the pain network and increased activity in other ares of the brain," according to University of Iowa professor of anesthetsia Sebastian Schulz-Stubner.
Hypnosis was successful in reducing pain perception for all 12 participants. Hypnotized volunteers reported either no pain or significantly reduced pain (less than 3 on the 0-10 pain scale) in response to the painful heat….
"…For clinical use, (the study) helps to dispel prejudice about hypnosis as a technique to manage pain because we can show an objective, measurable change in brain activity linked to a reduced perception of pain," (Schulz-Stubner) added.
