Exploring the Neuroscience of Suggestion: From Words to Higher Vision

Specific presentations within this symposium include:

 Hypnotic Interventions to Enhance Evidence-Informed Treatment for Traumatic Stress Disorders

 Using Hypnosis to Enhance the Benefits of Cognitive Therapy on Pain Outcomes

 Hypnosis Intervention for Sleep Disturbance: Surprising Results from a Clinical Trial

Learning Outcomes:

● Describe three recent developments in the application of hypnosis to clinical problems.

● Describe the evidence base for using hypnosis to address trauma, pain, and sleep problems. ● Identify key areas needing further development of an evidence base.

9:30-9:45 AM PDT Break

9:45-10:45 AM PDT Keynote

Amir Raz, PhD, Professor, Director, Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; Psychology School of Pharmacy, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA

1 CE

Cognitive science has scantily exploited suggestion as an experimental tool. This keynote address will outline how, for example, we can use suggestion to hinder lexical processing, language-based processing, and the modulation of speech parameters. This approach challenges dominant views (i.e., that word recognition is obligatory for proficient readers) and provides dramatic insights into top-down influences of suggestion on cognition, emotion, thought, and action.

Learning Outcomes:

• Articulate the difference between bottom-up and top-down processes.

• Identify the functional neuroanatomy and brain circuitry underlying suggestion. • Describe how to relate basic science on suggestion to clinical applications involving neural deficits.