Structural and functional cerebral correlates of hypnotic suggestibility

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 26;9(3):e93187. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093187. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Little is known about the neural bases of hypnotic suggestibility, a cognitive trait referring to the tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestions. In the present magnetic resonance imaging study, we performed regression analyses to assess hypnotic suggestibility-related differences in local gray matter volume, using voxel-based morphometry, and in waking resting state functional connectivity of 10 resting state networks, in 37 healthy women. Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with gray matter volume in portions of the left superior and medial frontal gyri, roughly overlapping with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and insula. In the functional connectivity analysis, hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with functional connectivity between medial posterior areas, including bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and both the lateral visual network and the left fronto-parietal network; a positive correlation was also found with functional connectivity between the executive-control network and a right postcentral/parietal area. In contrast, hypnotic suggestibility was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between the right fronto-parietal network and the right lateral thalamus. These findings demonstrate for the first time a correlation between hypnotic suggestibility, the structural features of specific cortical regions, and the functional connectivity during the normal resting state of brain structures involved in imagery and self-monitoring activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Connectome
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Frontal Lobe / physiology
  • Gray Matter / anatomy & histology*
  • Humans
  • Hypnosis*
  • Middle Aged
  • Organ Size
  • Temporal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Temporal Lobe / physiology
  • Visual Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Visual Cortex / physiology

Grants and funding

The authors thank the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena (FCRM) for its financial support to the Modena MR center. A.H. is supported by a FCRM International grant 2010 (code: A0FF-0AAB-9711-FA30) to C.A.P. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.