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Hypnosis-induced modulation of corticospinal excitability during motor imagery.

ABSTRACT: Hypnosis can be considered an altered state of consciousness in which individuals produce movements under suggestion without apparent voluntary control. Despite its application in contexts implying motor control, evidence for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying hypnosis is scarce. Inter-individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility suggest that sensorimotor strategies may manifest in a hypnotic state. We tested by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation applied over the primary motor cortex whether motor system activation during a motor imagery task differs in the awake and in the hypnotic state. To capture individual differences, 30 healthy volunteers were classified as high or low hypnotizable (Highs and Lows) according to ad-hoc validated scales measuring hypnotic susceptibility and personality questionnaires. Corticospinal activation during motor imagery in the hypnotic state was greater in the Highs than the Lows. Intrinsic motivation in task performance and level of persuasion modulated corticospinal activation in the Highs. Corticospinal system activation under hypnosis may have practical implications that merit research in areas where hypnosis can be applied to improve motor performance, such as loss of motor abilities and sports.

SUBMITTER: Cesari P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547693 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hypnosis-induced modulation of corticospinal excitability during motor imagery.

Cesari Paola P Modenese Michele M Benedetti Sara S Emadi Andani Mehran M Fiorio Mirta M

Scientific reports 20201009 1

Hypnosis can be considered an altered state of consciousness in which individuals produce movements under suggestion without apparent voluntary control. Despite its application in contexts implying motor control, evidence for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying hypnosis is scarce. Inter-individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility suggest that sensorimotor strategies may manifest in a hypnotic state. We tested by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation applied over the primary m ...[more]

PMID: 33037277

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Project description:The human "mirror-system" is suggested to play a crucial role in action observation and execution, and is characterized by activity in the premotor and parietal cortices during the passive observation of movements. The previous motor experience of the observer has been shown to enhance the activity in this network. Yet visual experience could also have a determinant influence when watching more complex actions, as in dance performances. Here we tested the impact visual experience has on motor simulation when watching dance, by measuring changes in corticospinal excitability. We also tested the effects of empathic abilities. To fully match the participants' long-term visual experience with the present experimental setting, we used three live solo dance performances: ballet, Indian dance, and non-dance. Participants were either frequent dance spectators of ballet or Indian dance, or "novices" who never watched dance. None of the spectators had been physically trained in these dance styles. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to measure corticospinal excitability by means of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in both the hand and the arm, because the hand is specifically used in Indian dance and the arm is frequently engaged in ballet dance movements. We observed that frequent ballet spectators showed larger MEP amplitudes in the arm muscles when watching ballet compared to when they watched other performances. We also found that the higher Indian dance spectators scored on the fantasy subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the larger their MEPs were in the arms when watching Indian dance. Our results show that even without physical training, corticospinal excitability can be enhanced as a function of either visual experience or the tendency to imaginatively transpose oneself into fictional characters. We suggest that spectators covertly simulate the movements for which they have acquired visual experience, and that empathic abilities heighten motor resonance during dance observation.

Project description:BackgroundPhysical motor exercise aided by an electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) is known to improve motor recovery in patients with stroke. In such a BCI paradigm, event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the alpha and beta bands extracted from EEG recorded over the primary sensorimotor area (SM1) is often used, since ERD has been suggested to be associated with an increase of corticospinal excitability. Recently, we demonstrated a novel online lock-in amplifier (LIA) algorithm to estimate the amplitude modulation of motor-related SM1 ERD. With this algorithm, the delay time, accuracy, and stability to estimate motor-related SM1 ERD were significantly improved compared with the conventional fast Fourier transformation (FFT) algorithm. These technical improvements to extract an ERD trace imply a potential advantage for a better trace of the excitatory status of the SM1 in a BCI context. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the precision of LIA-based ERD tracking for estimation of corticospinal excitability using a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigm.MethodsThe motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by single-pulse TMS over the primary motor cortex depending on the magnitudes of SM1 ERD (i.e., 35% and 70%) extracted by the online LIA or FFT algorithm were monitored during a motor imagery task of wrist extension in 17 healthy participants. Then, the peak-to-peak amplitudes of MEPs and their variabilities were assessed to investigate the precision of the algorithms.ResultsWe found greater MEP amplitude evoked by single-pulse TMS triggered by motor imagery-related alpha SM1 ERD than at rest. This enhancement was associated with the magnitude of ERD in both FFT and LIA algorithms. Moreover, we found that the variabilities of peak-to-peak MEP amplitudes at 35% and 70% ERDs calculated by the novel online LIA algorithm were smaller than those extracted using the conventional FFT algorithm.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that the calculation of motor imagery-related SM1 ERDs using the novel online LIA algorithm led to a more precise estimation of corticospinal excitability than when the ordinary FFT-based algorithm was used.

Dataset Information

Hypnosis-induced modulation of corticospinal excitability during motor imagery.

Publications

Hypnosis-induced modulation of corticospinal excitability during motor imagery.

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