HYPNÖSIS
is often induced, by the hypnotist having the subject stare at a particular object for a while, until his eyes fatigue and want to close. The Neurological techniques for guiding an individual into a Trance involve narrowing the person's field of neurological activity to those of only a few select experiences.
When we concentrate our attention on a swinging ball, impulses received through the eyes are relayed by the visual pathways to the Midbrain. Areas of the brain affected include the Reticular Formation, the Pons, and the Medulla, but the incoming impulses primarily influence and inhibit the Midbrain centers so that the responses of the motor and sensory areas, and also memory areas of the Neocortex, can be fatigued (habituated), and subsequently can be modified. 
(See
Neural Habituation )
The reason for such a technique is that with Eye Closure, the subject begins to allow his general reality-orientated way of thinking to fade into the background of his awareness. A great deal of attention cathexis is therefore released and can be turned onto the subject's inner experiences and to his interaction with the hynotist. The subject becomes Ego-receptive to the promptings coming from his own preconscious and unconscious, and also to those of the hypnotist's suggestions. 
The Hûman Mïnd,
in all its states of consciousness, functions within a balance of Primary and Secondary Processes of thinking. Primary process thinking is thought in pictorial form. Secondary process thinking is devoid of such imagery, and is purely conceptual thought. Primary and Secondary Processes of thinking range along a continuum; where no distinct line of demarcation seperates them.
In altered states of consciousness, such as the Trance State, an individual opens up and therefore allows into his awareness (stream of consciousness), materials that are usually unconscious; and as in the case of Hypnosis, fantasies that in part may be suggested by the hypnotist. Cognitively one moves back in the developmental hierarchy from waking, rational, and reality-oriented Secondary Process thinking, to that of Primary Process thinking.
Stated another way: While in the state of Hypnosis, one allows more imagery and fantasy to rise into awareness from within. One's automatic, and rational thinking is dissociated, and Ego receptivity to imagery, fantasy and suggestion increases significantly. Meditation and Hypnotic techniques alike produce the types of manipulated attention required for produce of dissociation.
(See
Ego-Receptivity )
Hans Berger developed the technique for recording the electrical activity of the brain in the early 1930's. He found it possible to record Brain Waves from the surface of the scalp. The discovery of the Electroencephalogram (EEG)
, as this process is called, provided evidence that the brain displays electrical activity. Although the electrical activity recorded from the scalp represents the sum of all neural activity, (action potentials, graded potentials and so on), it is mostly the measure of the graded potentials of dendrites. As a result, the EEG represents the summed dentritic activity of thousands of nerve cells and can only be considered a rather general measure of the brain's activity.
It is now believed that the CNS works by a combination of analogue (quantitative, ie. how much), and digital (qualitative, ie. binary yes/no), principles. Analogue functions are a property of the dentritic system and the graded potentials and their unit activity; digital functions being the property of the axons. Even though an EEG may be used as a crude measure of the brain's level of activity, still it divulges very little about the activity of single nerve cells as such.
It has been found that the pattern of EEG activity differs in different areas of the brain. Patterns obtained when a person is awake, resting quietly, with eyes closed, revealed the dominant rhythm of the posterior cortex (Occipital lobe) is a
Synchronized 8 to 12 cycles per second (cps) wave form called the Alpha Rhythm.
The dominant rhythm of the pre-central and post-central sensorimotor areas is a 20 to 25 cps wave form called the beta rhythm. The secondary Frontal areas have a 17 to 20 beta wave. And the tertiary Frontal area produces a 8 to 12 cps beta wave.
These resting EEG rhythms are replaced by low-voltage fast activity, or desynchronization, when these areas of the brain are in an active mode. As for example, the alpha rhythm of the Occipital (visual) cortex desynchronizes when the eyes are open. EEG activity within the motor cortex
(area 4) desynchronizes during voluntary movement, such as arm or leg movement.
The EEG of the brain, while in the receptive-mode of thinking and feeling, is characterized by the preponderance of alpha waves; baseline muscle tone is decreased; attention is diffuse; and there is decreased perceptual boundaries. Cognitively, there is dominance of the sensory over formal conceptual thought, that is, more prelogical imagery and thought than strictly processes. In this state the barrier between conscious and the unconscious and preconscious is lowered. This leads to greater availability of unconscious material to the conscious Mïnd.
The Essence of an Idea is that it occurs in the absence of its original source or the Environmental element to which it corresponds!
Psychological Techniques
for guiding an individual into a Trance involve narrowing the person's field of attention to those of his own inner experiences. The skilled manipulation of nonverbal components of the hypnotist's communication is a major factor in Trance Language. It is the Analogical Communications; those changes in tone of voice, eye contact, posture, gaze, breathing patterns and other nonverbal forms of communication, while shifting into an induction - that serve as associations or Anchors to entering Trance.
Hypnosis arises as the result of
triggering the associations between words and experience. Some clinicians establish what is called a Cue word or symbol that the patient is to use as a rapid means for entering trance. A Cue, such as the Trance Voice, is an overt example of an Anchor!
The association to entering trance in response to the use of your voice in a particular way is the use of what is known as an Auditory Anchor; a conditioned pattern of responses in association with an auditory stimulus. This is the result of a deepening technique known as
Refractionation.
The clinician hypnotizes the patient in the traditional manner, then provides a post-hypnotic suggestion that he will fall back into a deep trance after he is awakened, by simply hearing the cue word. The clinician then guides the person in and out of Trance several times in the same session.
Ideodynamic Responses
" Any Neural Network can be excited by other
Neural Networks ! "
Observeable responses on the part of the subject are relied upon heavily in most forms of Hypnosis. Ideodynamic Responses are those automatic or conditioned responses that are generated on an unconscious level by the subject in response to stimuli either external or internal.
Unlike the other phenomena we experienced while in Trance, Ideodynamic Responses occur no matter what one does. There is literally no way the individual can prevent unconscious body movements, or keep from re-experiencing feelings and sensations.
However, responses to feelings, movements or sensations suggested by the hypnotist, can be enhanced, the greater the degree of dissociation present, since Ideodynamics are by definition Unconscious Responses. Therefore facilitating dissociation is a necessary first step prior to attempting procedures such as automatic writing, or finger signaling.
(SeeThe Human Unconscious )
Direct and
Indirect
Suggestions are very effective in facilitating ideodynamic responses. Well chosen words of indirect suggestions for ideodynamic responses, are perhaps the most utilized in the language of The Trance Dance since they preoccupy the subject with the content of the suggestion and facilitate the ideodynamic response. For while the subject projects himself into the described situation and attempts to make meaning out of it, his unconscious is already responding.
The automatic functions that humans are capable of exist on three different levels: motor, sensory, and affect. Collectively they are referred to as ideodynamic responses; individually they are referred to as Ideomotor, Ideosensory, and Ideoaffective Responses respectively. In each of the automatic functions described below, are examples which Directly and Indirectly suggest an automatic experience that is not created consciously. They just happen, as the patient follows the suggestion, and does not have to volitionally will them at all.
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Responses
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