Increased anterior corpus callosum size associated positively with hypnotizability and the ability to control pain

This is the first MRI study to report differences in brain structure size between low and highly hypnotizable, healthy, right-handed young adults. Participants were stringently screened for hypnotic susceptibility with two standardized scales, and then exposed to hypnotic analgesia training to contr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain (London, England : 1878) England : 1878), 2004-08, Vol.127 (8), p.1741-1747
Main Authors: Horton, James E., Crawford, Helen J., Harrington, Gregory, Downs, J. Hunter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AC-PC = anterior commissure–posterior commissure
ADHD = attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Adolescent
Adult
attention
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cold Temperature
corpus callosum
Corpus Callosum - anatomy & histology
Corpus Callosum - physiology
Female
fMRI = functional MRI
FOV = field of view
HHs = highly hypnotizable subjects
Humans
Hypnosis
hypnotic analgesia
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods
LHs = low hypnotizable subjects
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medical sciences
MPRAGE = magnetization prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo
Neurology
pain
Pain - pathology
Pain Management
PFC = prefrontal cortices
rCBF = regional cerebral blood flow
Reproducibility of Results
ROI = region of interest
rostrum
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Summary:This is the first MRI study to report differences in brain structure size between low and highly hypnotizable, healthy, right-handed young adults. Participants were stringently screened for hypnotic susceptibility with two standardized scales, and then exposed to hypnotic analgesia 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.
ISSN:0006-8950
1460-2156
1460-2156
DOI:10.1093/brain/awh196