Voluntary Control of Auditory Evoked Responses by Children with and without Hypnosis

Abstract

This is the first reported study of the ability of children to voluntarily change brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER). Fifteen children were studied. Both control and hypnosis groups showed changes in interwave latencies after verbal suggestions when compared to a normal control group. These findings suggest that children may be able to modify peripheral auditory input into the brainstem through simple suggestion alone. Children in the formal hypnosis group did have more specific control for the task suggested. However, it is possible that children in the control group moved into an altered state of consciousness after listening to a taped story, reading a book, or spontaneously. They may have attained the observed changes in BAER while in a hypnosis-like state. This study encourages additional research in self-regulatory skills of autonomic processes in children.