ABSTRACT
Despite a number of studies on hypnosis as analgesia and anesthesia in several medical conditions, case studies on patients with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are still relatively few. This case study is about a female patient with MCS who underwent dental removal using hypnosis as the sole anesthesia. The paradigm in which we work is psychosocial genomics of clinical hypnosis. We used the mind-body transformations therapy, one of the clinical methods of the psychosocial genomics paradigm. In order to induce not only effective analgesia and anesthesia but also a condition of well-being, problem-solving, effective coping and self-empowerment in our patient, 3 different hypnotic protocols were used in a multidimensional approach. Although further research is needed, our work might open up new scenarios for the application of hypnosis as sole anesthesia in conditions such as MCS.
Subject(s)
Hypnosis, Dental , Multiple Chemical Sensitivity/complications , Tooth Extraction , Adult , Female , Humans , Hypnosis/methods , Hypnosis, Dental/methods , Tooth Extraction/methods , Tooth Extraction/psychologyABSTRACT
Neuroscience and bioinformatics research on activity-dependent gene expression and brain plasticity in memory and learning are used to reconceptualize a fundamental question of therapeutic hypnosis, "What is a suggestion?" John Kihlstrom's cognitive-behavioral perspective of implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) memory and Eric Kandel's Nobel Prize winning neurobiological research are integrated for a 30-year update of Milton H. Erickson's "neuro-psycho-physiology" of therapeutic hypnosis. Implicit processing heuristics are proposed as a more general framework for Erickson's concept of permissive indirect suggestions in therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy. These perspectives are illustrated by utilizing implicit processing heuristics to facilitate the four-stage creative process in converting implicit to explicit memory in a brain-damaged patient.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Hypnosis , Neurosciences/methods , Suggestion , Brain/physiopathology , Humans , Neuronal Plasticity/physiologyABSTRACT
Neuroscience documents the activity of "mirror neurons" in the human brain as a mechanism whereby we experience empathy and recognize the intentions of others by observing their behavior and automatically matching their brain activity. This neural basis of empathy finds support in research on dysfunctions in the mirror systems of humans with autism and fMRI research on normal subjects designed to assess intentionality, emotions, and complex cognition. Such empathy research now appears to be consistent with the historical and research literature on hypnotic induction, rapport, and many of the classical phenomena of suggestion. A preliminary outline of how mirror neurons may function as a rapport zone mediating between observing consciousness, the gene expression/protein synthesis cycle, and brain plasticity in therapeutic hypnosis and psychosomatic medicine is proposed. Brain plasticity is generalized in the theory, research, and practice of utilizing mirror neurons as an explanatory framework in developing and training new skill sets for facilitating an activity-dependent approach to creative problem solving, mind-body healing, and rehabilitation with therapeutic hypnosis.
