When hypnosis was first introduced to the European public more than a century ago, it was widely denounced by skeptics as a mere stage trick. Even when a hypnotized patient underwent surgery without anesthesia, showing no pain, the skeptics refused to believe anything more than a ruse was involved. The patient, they claimed, had obviously entered into an agreement with the surgeon to remain quiet through the operation!
I had assumed that such attitudes had long since faded. But while doing a little online research on Derren Brown, I came across some skeptical comments on hypnosis (which Brown is alleged to employ). The claim about Brown is that he practices "involuntary hypnosis" - hypnotizing his subjects without their knowledge or consent. I have no reason to think that involuntary hypnosis is possible. What surprised me, though, is that some skeptics still have their doubts about even conventional hypnosis.
Neuroscientists are only just beginning to understand how hypnosis can reduce sensations of pain. In November, researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City published a study that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the brain activity of hypnotised and non-hypnotised volunteers when they were exposed to painful heat. The fMRI images showed that brain activity in the two groups differed significantly. The response of their subcortical neural network, where pain signals start, was unaffected. However, there were remarkable differences in the higher parts of the pain network. Activity in the primary sensory cortex, the area responsible for feeling pain, was dampened down.
Once again, the skeptics are behind the curve. Trapped by a hopelessly rigid worldview, they simply cannot absorb new information - even when the "new" information in question is more than a century old. Meanwhile, the world moves on, leaving Robert Carroll and James Randi ever further behind.
-- excerpts from the original article by Michael Prescott
