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HYPNOSIS,
AUTOGENIC
RELAXATION,
AND
QUIET
REST
13
interventions can have a positive influence on affect
in
individuals scor-
ing in the nonclinical range on anxiety. There has been a tendency to
view the "distraction" explanation as a psychological rather than a phys-
iological hypothesis, but it
is
more appropriate to interpret this observa-
tion within a psychobiological context because quiet rest and meditation
(culticand noncultic) are associated with cardiovascular and endocrine
changes, as well as self-reported anxiolysis (Bahrke
&
Morgan, 1978;
Michaels et al., 1976;Raglin
&
Morgan, 1987).
The mean oxygen uptake did not decrease significantly during the
three interventions employed
in
the present study,but therewas
a
signif-
icant increase in oxygen uptake during a portion of the hypnosis condi-
tion when psychomotor challenges were presented to the participants.
The hypnosis group experienced a significant increase in oxygen uptake
during the 5-minute period when the individuals in this group per-
formed physical tasks, such as hand clasping and arm rigidity. Isometric
muscular contractions of this nature should produce increased oxygen
uptake, and this is precisely what resulted. However, when participants
in the hypnosis condition were at complete rest (i.e., no psychomotor
challenge), the steady state oxygen uptake did not differ from that
observed for participants in the autogenic relaxation and quiet rest con-
ditions. These results demonstrate that instrumentation of the type
employed
in
this study possesses the precision necessary to detect small
changes in oxygen uptake.
The earlier literature dealing with efforts to identify physiological
correlates of hypnosis failed to yield conclusive evidence (Gorton, 1949;
Barber, 1965b; Crasilneck
&
Hall, 1959; Levitt
&
Brady, 1963; Morgan,
1985; Weitzenhoffer, 1963).
A
review
of
this earlier literature does not
permit generalizations or advancement of principles, and Levitt and
Brady (1963)pointed out that many
of
the physiological changes attrib-
uted to hypnosis may simply reflectmuscular relaxation or drowsiness.
This
is
another reason why a no-treatment control needs
to
be included
in research designs concerned with the efficacy of interventions such as
hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation.
It is also important to recognize that most hypnosis researchers today
are not investigating the effects of hypnosis per se, but rather they are
attempting to study the effect for
a
specific task done during hypnosis.
This is quite different than making a case for a broad-based hypnotic
state that is characterized by unique patterns of brain activity irrespec-
tive of what
the
hypnotized person is doing (Kirsch
&
Lynn,
1999,
Ray
et al.,
2000).
It is now recognized that physiological parameters assessed
during hypnosis are most likely to change or be responsive when a spe-
cific task or challenge is employed. It has been shown, for example, that
perception of effort is remarkably similar during bicycle ergometry per-
formed at a resistance of
100
watts under control and hypnosis condi-
tions. However, suggestions of uphill and downhill exercise result
in
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