A case study of the effects of posthypnotic suggestion on visual information processing : measuring behaviour and event-related potentials

The hypnotic phenomena have long been debated. In scientific research, disagreements on the conceptual and methodological approach have led to controversial results and interpretations which heat up the debate. Additionally, hypnotic suggestibility is often measured only behaviourally, subjects are studied in masses and the role of individual responders is largely neglected. One way to reach beyond mere behaviour to the level of experience without losing the individual variability is by combining posthypnotic suggestions, self-reports, psychophysiological measurement techniques and a case study approach. The present study examined the effects of suggested changes in the visual colour perception of simple geometric shapes in the posthypnotic and the simulation condition as measured by self-reports, reaction times, error rates and event-related potentials (ERPs). The case study approach was chosen and the focus was set on two highly suggestible hypnotic responders. The comparative data for simulation were also obtained from a set of control subjects. Results indicated differences in processing between the posthypnotic and simulation condition seen in the behavioural performance and to a lesser extent in the posterior N2 and P3 peaks of the ERP waves. Evident dissimilarities were found also among highly suggestible hypnotic responders. These results support the occurrence of inimitable hypnotic modulations in some individuals and point out the need to examine hypnotic responders on a more individual basis.Hypnoosi on jo kauan ollut hyvin kiistanalainen aihe. Erot lähestymistavoissa, käsitteiden määrittelyssä ja menetelmien valinnassa ovat johtaneet eriäviin tuloksiin ja tulkintoihin, jotka kasvattanut kuilua eri näkemysten välillä entisestään. Lisäksi herkkyys hypnoottisille suggestioille mitataan usein vain käyttäytymisen perusteella, koehenkilöitä tutkitaan joukkoina ja yksilöllisen vaihtelun osuus jää huomioimatta. Yksi tapa lähestyä käyttäytymisen taustalla olevaa kokemusta on käyttää posthypnoottisia suggestioita ja kyselyitä sekä mitata aivojen aktiivisuutta. Yksilöllinen vaihtelu taas voidaan ottaa huomioon käyttämällä yksilötutkimusasetelmaa. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin suggestiota, joka ohjeisti näkemään tietyn kolmesta geometrisesta muodosta toisen värisenä kuin mitä se todellisuudessa oli. Kaksi suggestioille erittäin herkkää yksilöä toimivat tämän suggestion mukaan joko posthypnoottisesti tai jäljitellen tätä. Kokeiden aikana tarkasteltiin muutoksia reaktioajoissa, virheiden lukumäärissä ja aivojen tapahtumasidonnaisissa jännitevasteissa. Lopuksi kokeiden aikaisia kokemuksia kartoitettiin. Vertailun vuoksi jäljittelyn aikaisia mittauksia tehtiin myös kolmelle kontrollikoehenkilölle. Tulokset osoittivat, että tutkittujen suggestioherkkien yksilöiden havaintojen käsittely oli erilaista posthypnoottisessa ja jäljittelytilanteessa, mikä näkyi enemmän käyttäytymisessä ja vähemmän aivojen sähköisessä aktiivisuudessa. Myös suggestioherkkien yksilöiden välillä oli huomattavia eroja. Nämä tulokset vahvistavat käsitystä siitä, että hypnoosi voi vaikuttaa joihinkin yksilöihin tavalla, jota ei pystytä jäljittelemään, ja korostavat tarvetta tutkia enemmän hypnoosiin liittyvää yksilöllistä vaihtelua

Kirjallisuuskatsaus opintoja ja työllistymistä tukevista toimenpiteistä nuorille aikuisille, joilla on ADHD

ADHD on aktiivisuuden ja tarkkaavuuden häiriö, joka saattaa merkittävästi heikentää yksilön opiskelu- ja työkykyä. Monet kansainväliset terveysjärjestöt suosittelevat siihen useita interventiomuotoja yhdistävää kuntoutusta. Tässä järjestelmällisessäkirjallisuuskatsauksessa selvitettiin olemassa olevaa tutkimustietoa psykososiaalisista interventiomenetelmistä, joilla tuetaan ADHD-diagnoosin saaneiden nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten (16–30-vuotiaiden) opintojen edistymistä sekä normaaliin tai tuettuun palkkatyöhön työllistymistä ja työssä pysymistä. Järjestelmällisen kirjallisuushaun avulla löydettiin kahdeksan hakukriteerit täyttävää tutkimusartikkelia. Interventiomenetelmistä eniten tutkittuja olivat opiskelun haasteisiin kohdistuva valmennus sekä tarkkaamattomuuden ja impulsiivisuuden vähentämiseen kohdistuva EEGbiopalautehoito. Tutkimusten välillä oli suuria eroja käytännön toteutuksessa ja tuloksellisuuden mittaamisessa. Lyhyellä aikavälillä saadut tulokset olivat enimmäkseen myönteisiä, mutta pidempikestoista kuntoutuksen jälkiseurantaa ei ollut toteutettu. Kaiken kaikkiaan aihetta koskeva tutkimustieto näyttää olevan vielä niukkaa ja hajanaista, ja lisää tutkimustietoa tarvitaan kliinisen työn tueksi. Abstract ADHD is a disorder of attention and activity that can noticeably reduce an affected individual’s ability to study and work. Most international health organizations recommend treatment with a multicomponent intervention program. This systematic review assesses the state of the art in research on psychosocial interventions aimed at supporting education and employment of young adults (aged 16−30) with ADHD. A thorough search in nine databases resulted in eight research articles. The most commonly used intervention techniques were coaching targeted at study skills, and neurofeedback targeted at inattention and impulsivity. The parameters of practical implementation and instruments for measuring the results differed greatly between studies. In most cases, the short-time results were positive, but no long-term follow-up was conducted. All in all, the evidence shows that there is currently scant intervention research on young adults with ADHD, and more research is urgently required

Epileptic Electroencephalography Profile Associates with Attention Problems in Children with Fragile X Syndrome : Review and Case Series

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and a variant of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The FXS population is quite heterogeneous with respect to comorbidities, which implies the need for a personalized medicine approach, relying on biomarkers or endophenotypes to guide treatment. There is evidence that quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) endophenotype-guided treatments can support increased clinical benefit by considering the patient's neurophysiological profile. We describe a case series of 11 children diagnosed with FXS, aged one to 14 years, mean 4.6 years. Case data are based on longitudinal clinically-observed reports by attending physicians for comorbid symptoms including awake and asleep EEG profiles. We tabulate the comorbid EEG symptoms in this case series, and relate them to the literature on EEG endophenotypes and associated treatment options. The two most common endophenotypes in the data were diffuse slow oscillations and epileptiform EEG, which have been associated with attention and epilepsy respectively. This observation agrees with reported prevalence of comorbid behavioral symptoms for FXS. In this sample of FXS children, attention problems were found in 37% (4 of 11), and epileptic seizures in 45% (5 of 11). Attention problems were found to associate with the epilepsy endophenotype. From the synthesis of this case series and literature review, we argue that the evidence-based personalized treatment approach, exemplified by neurofeedback, could benefit FXS children by focusing on observable, specific characteristics of comorbid disease symptoms.Peer reviewe

A Preconscious Neural Mechanism of Hypnotically Altered Colors : A Double Case Study

Peer reviewe

The time course of the evoked responses at 22 Hz and event-related potentials over the left occipital cortex for each stimulus type in the posthypnotic and simulation conditions for (A) TS-H and (B) RM.

<p>The difference in TS-H’s evoked beta between suggestion-relevant shapes (S+C+, S+C−) and –irrelevant shapes (S−C+, S−C−) is larger in the posthypnotic condition than in the simulation. TS-H’s event-related potentials between 200 and 300 ms show enhanced negativity/decreased positivity to the suggestion-relevant shapes relative to irrelevant shapes in the posthypnotic and simulation conditions. RM’s event-related potentials show enhanced negativity/decreased positivity to the suggestion-relevant shapes only in the posthypnotic condition 150–250 ms after stimulus-onset.</p

Epileptic Electroencephalography Profile Associates with Attention Defects in Children with Fragile X Syndrome: review and case series

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and a variant of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The FXS population is quite heterogeneous with respect to comorbidities, which implies the need for a personalized medicine approach, relying on biomarkers or endophenotypes to guide treatment. There is evidence that quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) endophenotype-guided treatments can support increased clinical benefit by considering the patient’s neurophysiological profile. We describe a case series of 11 children diagnosed with FXS, aged one to 14 years, mean 4.6 years. Case data are based on longitudinal clinically-observed reports by attending physicians for comorbid symptoms including awake and asleep EEG profiles. We tabulate the comorbid EEG symptoms in this case series, and relate them to the literature on EEG endophenotypes and associated treatment options. The two most common endophenotypes in the data were diffuse slow oscillations and epileptiform EEG, which have been associated with attention and epilepsy respectively. This observation agrees with reported prevalence of comorbid behavioral symptoms for FXS. In this sample of FXS children, attention problems were found in 37% (4 of 11), and epileptic seizures in 45% (5 of 11). Attention problems were found to associate with the epilepsy endophenotype. From the synthesis of this case series and literature review, we argue that the evidence-based personalized treatment approach, exemplified by neurofeedback, could benefit FXS children by focusing on observable, specific characteristics of comorbid disease symptoms

Stimulation sequence.

<p>The stimuli were presented in random order for 24 ms in red or blue with 800–1200 ms interstimulus-interval. The target color was either red or blue. In the posthypnotic conditions, a suggestion that one of the shapes is always presented in a specific color (e.g., “all triangles are red”) was given. In the simulation condition, the task was to behave as if having received such suggestion. (S+C+ = relevant shape, target color; S+C− = relevant shape, nontarget color; S−C+ = irrelevant shape, target color; S−C- = irrelevant shape, nontarget color).</p