Increased anterior corpus callosum size associated positively with hypnotizability and the ability t

Research Topics

Monday, 18 October 2004

Researchers from The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Virginia conducted the first MRI study to report differences in brain structure size between low and highly hypnotizable, healthy, right-handed young adults. There has been much theorizing about the size of the corpus collosum (the dividing structre between the 2 hemispheres of the brain, known to be more developed, generally, in women, for instance) being associated with greater ability to make use of immersive tools such as hypnosis and guided imagery.

Participants were stringently screened for hypnotic susceptibility with two standardized scales, and then exposed to hypnotic analgesia (pain reduction) training to control cold pressor pain.

Only the highly hypnotizable subjects (HHs) who eliminated pain perception were included in the present study. These HHs, who demonstrated more effective attentional and inhibitory capabilities, had a significantly (P < 0.003) larger (31.8%) rostrum, a corpus callosum area involved in the allocation of attention and transfer of information between prefrontal cortices, than low hypnotizable subjects (LHs).

These results provide support to the neuropsychophysiological model that HHs have more effective frontal attentional systems implementing control, monitoring performance and inhibiting unwanted stimuli from conscious awareness, than LHs.

Citation: Horton JE, Crawford HJ, Harrington G, Downs JH 3rd. Increased anterior corpus callosum size associated positively with hypnotizability and the ability to control pain. Brain. 2004 Aug;127(Pt 8):1741-7. Epub 2004 Jul 01. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites