Enhanced hypnotizability by cerebrally applied magnetic fields depends upon the order of hemispheric presentation: An anistropic effect

Abstract

A significant alteration in the hypnotizability of normal subjects after brief (15 min) exposures to weak (1 micro T) pulsed magnetic fields over the temporal lobes was determined by the serial order of hemispheric stimulation. Only subjects who received the right hemispheric stimulation first displayed significantly elevated hypnosis induction profile scores (effect size equivalent to a correlation of 0.41). Implications for a technology that can: a) modify hypnotizability, b) encourage the consolidation of quasiexperiences that are reconstructed as autobiographical memory, and c) change the sense of self, are discussed.

Key Words:

• hypnosis induction
• pulsed magnetic fields
• hemisphere
• acoustic chamber
• phenomenology brain