Key takeaways:
~ Hypnosis is a state involving deep relaxation and intense focus.
~ Research shows hypnosis is associated with changes in brain activity, such as deactivation of the frontal cortex and increased activity in regions like the inferior frontal gyrus in highly hypnotizable individuals.
~ Neurotransmitters like oxytocin and dopamine are involved in the hypnotic response, and genetic variants affect the responsiveness to hypnosis
What happens when you’re hypnotized?
Hypnosis is often described as a trance-like state with intense focus and concentration. While hypnotism may bring to mind stage tricks, like clucking like a chicken, hypnosis is increasingly being recognized for its clinical benefits, such as for pain management and lifestyle changes.
However, not everyone can easily be hypnotized – some people are quickly and deeply hypnotized, while others have difficulty responding to hypnotic suggestion.
Interestingly, studies show that hypnotizability – how susceptible someone is to hypnotism – is fairly stable throughout life. If you aren’t easily hypnotized as a young adult, then you are also likely not to respond to hypnosis in middle age. However, time of day does seem to influence hypnotizability a bit, with people being more responsive to hypnosis in the morning compared to the afternoon.[ref][ref]
Hypnotherapy typically involves four stages:[ref]
- Induction: This is when the therapist helps you relax and focus.
- Deepening: When you increase your focus and relaxation.
- Suggestions: This is when the hypnotherapist uses carefully chosen language to propose a change in behavior or reaction, such as stopping smoking.
- Emergence: Coming out of hypnosis slowly, usually with help from the therapist.
What happens in the brain with hypnosis:
Brain imaging studies can give us an idea of what occurs in the brain during hypnosis.
The fMRI test shows changes in blood flow in active areas of the brain. A fMRI study involving adults who were moderately susceptible to hypnosis compared the hypnotized state to the resting state brain images. The results showed that hypnotism (without targeting) was associated with the disassociation of the frontal cortex. Another study showed increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus for highly hypnotizable people. [ref][ref]
EEG studies often categorize individuals based on their tendency toward high or low dissociative states during hypnosis. A 2025 study showed that those with high or low disassociative states under hypnosis had different brain wave patterns both before and after hypnosis. Differences were shown for the power of delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands.[ref]
Hypnotizability:
People vary widely in how susceptible they are to hypnosis. Researchers classify subjects as having high, medium, or low hypnotizability. About 70% of people fall into the medium category, with 15% being either high or low.[ref]
Hypnotizability is thought to depend, at least in part, on a person’s proneness to fantasy, tendency towards deep absorption in tasks, ability to focus attention on an internal or external object, and less distractibility.[ref]
Essentially, hypnotizability comes down to differences in:
- Attention and executive control in different brain regions[ref]
- The ability to be deeply absorbed in tasks, such as reading.
- The tendency towards fantasizing or disconnecting from thoughts and feelings.
Neurotransmitters and neuropeptides involved in hypnosis:
During hypnotic sessions, oxytocin – a hormone linked to bonding and social trust – is released both in the hypnotist and in the person being hypnotized. Trust between the person being hypnotized and the therapist is important.
One study showed that administering oxytocin nasal spray before hypnosis increased the compliance of the hypnotized individual.[ref]
People who are more highly hypnotizable typically have faster reaction times during complex decision making, as well as shorter latency for auditory, visual, and somatic sensing. Dopamine response in certain regions of the brain is thought to be involved in the neurological differences in people who are more easily hypnotized.[ref]
Clinical trials involving hypnosis:
Clinical hypnosis is a therapeutic approach in which a therapist uses hypnosis to activate a patient’s brain to change perceptions, sensations, and behavior.[ref]
Clinical trials involving hypnosis show that it may be effective for:
COPD: Reducing the reflexive anxiety caused by lower oxygen[ref]
Pain: The ability to control pain through hypnosis is often a much better option than opiates or other drugs. People who are ‘high’ susceptibility to hypnosis are often much more responsive to pain control.[ref][ref]
Overeating: Both hypnosis and self-hypnosis work for about 2/3 of people for normalizing emotional or excessive eating.[ref]
Sleep: A study involving menopausal women with sleep problems found that self-hypnosis techniques improved sleep quality for over half the women.[ref]
Depression: In people with major depressive disorder, hypnotism plus CBT was statistically better than cognitive behavioral therapy alone.[ref]
Smoking: For some, hypnosis is effective for reducing the number of cigarettes smoked.[ref]
Gastric emptying: For people with dyspepsia, hypnotherapy may be effective for shortening gastric emptying.[ref]
Genotype report: Hypnosis
OXTR gene: oxytocin receptor. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that is involved in social bonding. In people who have a low response to hypnosis, oxytocin levels rise, while in medium and high responders, oxytocin levels remain constant.[ref]
Check your genetic data for rs53576 (23andMe v4, v5; AncestryDNA):
- G/G: More oxytocin, empathetic, optimistic, seeks and gives emotional support[ref][ref] Lower hypnotizability[ref]
- A/G: Not as empathetic, not generally as social with groups; likely more hypnotizable
- A/A: Not as empathetic, not generally as social with groups[ref]; likely more hypnotizable
Members: Your genotype for rs53576 is —.
ORPM1 gene: encodes the mu-opioid receptor. Studies on patients of hypnotherapy show that the variant that reduces mu opioid receptor responsiveness, rs1799971, is associated with being more susceptible to hypnosis.[ref]
Check your genetic data for rs1799971 (23andMe v4, v5; AncestryDNA):
- A/A: typical
- A/G: reduced mu opioid receptors; increased pain or fear of pain.[ref]; may need higher opioid medication dose for pain; increased risk of opioid dependence.[ref][ref][ref] more likely to be hypnotizable [ref]
- G/G: reduced mu opioid receptors; increased pain or fear of pain.[ref]; may need higher opioid medication dose for pain; increased risk of opioid dependence.[ref][ref][ref] more likely to be hypnotizable [ref]
Members: Your genotype for rs1799971 is —.
COMT gene: encodes an enzyme involved in neurotransmitter levels, including dopamine.
Check your genetic data for rs4680 Val158Met (23andMe v4, v5; AncestryDNA):
- G/G: Val/Val – fast (higher) COMT activity[ref] higher pain threshold
- A/G: Val/Met – intermediate COMT activity (most common genotype in Caucasians); intermediate pain sensitivity[ref]
- A/A: Met/Met – slow (40% lower COMT activity) [ref] lower pain threshold, higher dopamine; more pain in chronic pain situations[ref][ref] more likely to be hypnotizable[ref] especially in people with high-attention ability[ref]
Members: Your genotype for rs4680 is —.
Lifehacks:
Therapeutic hypnosis, such as for pain management or eating disorders, is very different from a hypnotist stage act. You remain in control of your behavior, and most people remain awake during the session, remembering what happens.
Here are a few tips for improving hypnotherapy from the Mayo Clinic:[ref]
- Wear comfortable clothes
- Make sure you’re well rested (so that you don’t fall asleep during the session)
- Find out about the provider’s training and experience, read reviews from other clients
Communicate with your therapist ahead of time to make sure you understand the goals and what is going to happen during the session.
Self-hypnosis is also possible, and a hypnotherapist may be able to guide you in how to do self-hypnosis sessions on your own.
| Gene | RS ID | Effect Allele | Your Genotype | Notes About Effect Allele |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OXTR | rs53576 | A | -- | likely more hypnotizable |
| ORPM1 | rs1799971 | G | -- | more likely to be hypnotizable |
| COMT | rs4680 | G | -- | Slow COMT enzyme, more likely to be hypnotizable |