Hypnosis Changes Whole Brain Networks, Not Just One Spot

The original paper

Landry M, Lifshitz M, Raz A. Brain correlates of hypnosis: a systematic review and meta-analytic exploration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2017.

Read the original paper on PubMed →

Summary

This review pooled the brain-imaging research on hypnosis to ask a simple question: is there one 'hypnosis spot' in the brain?

The answer was no. Instead, hypnosis consistently shifts activity across large networks — the ones that direct attention and control (executive network), decide what is important (salience network), and run our inner story about ourselves (default-mode network).

Key finding

Hypnosis reliably reorganises how the brain's major networks work together.

Why this matters

Change doesn't come from one switch being flipped. It comes from how attention, meaning and self-story are reorganised together — which is why a single session can shift so much.

Research is summarised in plain language for a general audience. Hypnotherapy and energy healing are complementary approaches and are not a substitute for medical or psychiatric care.

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