Hypnosis and the Brain: Emotion, Control, and Cognition
A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Cognition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2026 | Viewed by 51
Special Issue Editors
Interests: hypnosis; stress; anxiety; professional athletes; EEG; ECG
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, Hypnosis and the Brain: Emotion, Control, and Cognition, invites original research, reviews, and theoretical contributions exploring the neural, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms underlying hypnosis. Hypnotic state offers a unique window into consciousness, emotion regulation, cognitive control, and suggestibility. We encourage submissions from neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and interdisciplinary fields that examine how direct verbal suggestions modulate brain function, attention, memory, pain perception, emotional processing, and self-control. Studies employing neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI, EEG), psychophysiological, or computational methods to investigate hypnotic susceptibility, dissociation, and cognitive flexibility are particularly welcome. This Special Issue seeks to integrate findings from both clinical and experimental studies to better understand the therapeutic implications of hypnosis and suggestions and provide guidelines for potential interventions. We are especially interested in how hypnotic phenomena relate to volition, cognition, and emotion-cognition interactions. The aim is to create a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of how hypnosis and suggestions alter neural and behavioral responses, and to bridge the gap between basic and applied research. This Special Issue provides a platform for advancing the scientific understanding of hypnosis and its role in human cognition and emotion.
Dr. Barbara Schmidt
Dr. Anoushiravan Zahedi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- hypnosis
- brain function
- emotion regulation
- cognitive control
- suggestibility
- neuroimaging
- attention
- dissociation
- therapeutic mechanisms
- direct verbal suggestions
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