{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T05:48:54Z","timestamp":1792388934426,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hypnosis has traditionally been conceptualized as a clinical technique for reducing physiological symptoms (e.g., pain, nausea) and psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety, intrusive thoughts), yet emerging neuroscientific evidence suggests it operates through the fundamental mechanisms of emotional regulation and self-integration. This integrative review synthesizes research on clinical hypnosis from cognitive neuroscience, affective science, and clinical practice to examine how hypnotic phenomena modulate large-scale brain networks\u2014particularly the default mode network (DMN), executive control network (ECN), and salience network (SaN)\u2014to reorganize emotional experience and self-referential processing. We propose a formal mechanistic model in which hypnotic induction produces heightened experiential plasticity through coordinated network reconfiguration, enabling adaptive emotion regulation and reduced dissociative fragmentation. Central to this framework is the construct of Fundamental Peace (FP), operationalized as a dynamic neuro-experiential state characterized by: (1) flexible attentional control without effortful suppression; (2) emotional coherence across self-states; (3) reduced self-referential rigidity; (4) compassionate self-awareness. Unlike equanimity (affective neutrality) or well-being (positive evaluation), Fundamental Peace represents integrated regulatory capacity under changing conditions. Key findings from neuroimaging studies demonstrate that hypnotic states consistently reduce DMN activity, enhance ECN-SaN coupling, and modulate connectivity patterns associated with self-referential processing. Meta-analytic evidence from 85 controlled experimental trials shows robust pain reduction effects, while clinical studies document improvements in trauma-related dissociation and emotional dysregulation. We critically evaluate this framework against alternative theories (dissociated control, cold control, predictive processing, social-cognitive models), specify testable predictions, and assess evidence quality across neuroimaging and clinical domains. Implications for trauma treatment, clinical implementation, and future research integrating causal inference methods are discussed, alongside ethical and cultural considerations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16030395","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T11:06:52Z","timestamp":1773054412000},"page":"395","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Hypnosis as a Mechanism of Emotion Regulation and Self-Integration: An Integrative Review of Neural, Cognitive, and Experiential Pathways to Fundamental Peace"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3222-6092","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis Miguel","family":"Gallardo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness, Shoolini University, Solan 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1487-6372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Saamdu","family":"Chetri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yogananda School of Spirituality and Happiness, Shoolini University, Solan 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1177\/1073191105283504","article-title":"Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness","volume":"13","author":"Baer","year":"2006","journal-title":"Assessment"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"783","DOI":"10.1093\/jpepsy\/jsu029","article-title":"Systematic review and meta-analysis of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents","volume":"39","author":"Birnie","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Pediatric Psychology"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Braid, J. (1843). Neurypnology; or, the rationale of nervous sleep, considered in relation with animal magnetism, John Churchill."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1196\/annals.1440.011","article-title":"The brain\u2019s default network: Anatomy, function, and relevance to disease","volume":"1124","author":"Buckner","year":"2008","journal-title":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1176\/ajp.153.7.42","article-title":"Hypnotizability and traumatic experience: A diathesis-stress model of dissociative symptomatology","volume":"153","author":"Butler","year":"1996","journal-title":"American Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Cramer, P. (2006). Protecting the self: Defense mechanisms in action, Guilford Press."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience, Harper & Row."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-444-53839-0.00020-X","article-title":"Hypnotic modulation of resting state fMRI default mode and extrinsic network connectivity","volume":"193","author":"Demertzi","year":"2011","journal-title":"Progress in Brain Research"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1007\/s12671-013-0269-8","article-title":"Moving beyond mindfulness: Defining equanimity as an outcome measure in meditation and contemplative research","volume":"6","author":"Desbordes","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mindfulness"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jamieson, G. A. (2007). Executive control without conscious awareness: The cold control theory of hypnosis. Hypnosis and conscious states: The cognitive neuroscience perspective, Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780198569794.001.0001"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jamieson, G. A. (2007). Cognitive control processes and hypnosis. Hypnosis and conscious states: The cognitive neuroscience perspective, Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780198569794.001.0001"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Ellenberger, H. F. (1970). The discovery of the unconscious: The history and evolution of dynamic psychiatry, Basic Books."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Rossi, E. L. (1980). The collected papers of Milton H. Erickson on hypnosis, Irvington."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Erickson, M. H., and Rossi, E. L. (1979). Hypnotherapy: An exploratory casebook, Irvington."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.1080\/00207140701338696","article-title":"The efficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of psychosomatic disorders: Meta-analytical evidence","volume":"55","author":"Flammer","year":"2007","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Foa, E. B., Hembree, E. A., and Rothbaum, B. O. (2007). Prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD: Emotional processing of traumatic experiences, Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/med:psych\/9780195308501.001.0001"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9673","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0504136102","article-title":"The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks","volume":"102","author":"Fox","year":"2005","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1016\/j.beth.2006.08.003","article-title":"Initial psychometric properties of the Experiences Questionnaire: Validation of a self-report measure of decentering","volume":"38","author":"Fresco","year":"2007","journal-title":"Behavior Therapy"},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"1295","article-title":"The Hypnotic Induction Profile and absorption","volume":"144","author":"Frischholz","year":"1987","journal-title":"American Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Fromm, E., and Nash, M. R. (1992). Contemporary hypnosis research, Guilford Press."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Gauld, A. (1992). A history of hypnotism, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"101697","article-title":"Redefining hypnosis: A narrative review of theories to move towards an integrative model","volume":"50","author":"Geagea","year":"2023","journal-title":"Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1004","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.50.5.1004","article-title":"A social-cognitive skills approach to the successful modification of hypnotic susceptibility","volume":"50","author":"Gorassini","year":"1986","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Haley, J. (1973). Uncommon therapy: The psychiatric techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D., W. W. Norton."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2015.02.020","article-title":"Depressive rumination, the default-mode network, and the dark matter of clinical neuroscience","volume":"78","author":"Hamilton","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biological Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Hilgard, E. R. (1965). Hypnotic susceptibility, Harcourt, Brace & World."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1064","DOI":"10.1001\/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2190","article-title":"Functional brain basis of hypnotizability","volume":"69","author":"Hoeft","year":"2012","journal-title":"Archives of General Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Janet, P. (1889). L\u2019automatisme psychologique, F\u00e9lix Alcan."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1080\/00207144.2014.961875","article-title":"Mechanisms of hypnosis: Toward the development of a biopsychosocial model","volume":"63","author":"Jensen","year":"2015","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.12261","article-title":"Neural correlates of nondual awareness in meditation","volume":"1307","author":"Josipovic","year":"2014","journal-title":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences"},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness, Delacorte Press."},{"key":"ref_32","first-page":"101","article-title":"Identifying universal and culturally specific dimensions of shamanic traditions","volume":"11","author":"Krippner","year":"2000","journal-title":"Anthropology of Consciousness"},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness, North Atlantic Books."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1076\/iceh.51.1.4.14064","article-title":"Clinical hypnosis in the alleviation of procedure-related pain in pediatric oncology patients","volume":"51","author":"Liossi","year":"2003","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1080\/00029157.2014.976783","article-title":"Hypnosis, suggestion, and suggestibility: An integrative model","volume":"57","author":"Lynn","year":"2015","journal-title":"American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"654","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-022-04492-9","article-title":"Reproducible brain-wide association studies require thousands of individuals","volume":"603","author":"Marek","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.98.2.224","article-title":"Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation","volume":"98","author":"Markus","year":"1991","journal-title":"Psychological Review"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"848","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2009.09.001","article-title":"Hypnotic induction decreases anterior default mode activity","volume":"18","author":"McGeown","year":"2009","journal-title":"Consciousness and Cognition"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2011.08.003","article-title":"Large-scale brain networks and psychopathology: A unifying triple network model","volume":"15","author":"Menon","year":"2011","journal-title":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1007\/s00429-010-0262-0","article-title":"Saliency, switching, attention and control: A network model of insula function","volume":"214","author":"Menon","year":"2010","journal-title":"Brain Structure and Function"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.neuro.24.1.167","article-title":"An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function","volume":"24","author":"Miller","year":"2001","journal-title":"Annual Review of Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1080\/00207147308409308","article-title":"Age differences in susceptibility to hypnosis","volume":"21","author":"Morgan","year":"1973","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1080\/15298860309027","article-title":"The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion","volume":"2","author":"Neff","year":"2003","journal-title":"Self and Identity"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"565","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn3538","article-title":"Hypnotic suggestion: Opportunities for cognitive neuroscience","volume":"14","author":"Oakley","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"Ogden, P., Minton, K., and Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy, W. W. Norton."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"676","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.98.2.676","article-title":"A default mode of brain function","volume":"98","author":"Raichle","year":"2001","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"968","DOI":"10.1126\/science.277.5328.968","article-title":"Pain affect encoded in human anterior cingulate but not somatosensory cortex","volume":"277","author":"Rainville","year":"1997","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1162\/089892999563175","article-title":"Cerebral mechanisms of hypnotic induction and suggestion","volume":"11","author":"Rainville","year":"1999","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elkins, G. R. (2016). Hypnosis and meditation: Towards an integrative science of conscious planes. Handbook of medical and psychological hypnosis: Foundations, applications, and professional issues, Springer.","DOI":"10.1891\/9780826124876"},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1159\/000353263","article-title":"Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia","volume":"83","author":"Ryff","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shor, R. E., and Orne, E. C. (1962). Harvard group scale of hypnotic susceptibility, form A, Consulting Psychologists Press.","DOI":"10.1037\/t02246-000"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1080\/00207147408413010","article-title":"The grade 5 syndrome: The highly hypnotizable person","volume":"22","author":"Spiegel","year":"1974","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kluft, R. P. (1990). Trauma, dissociation, and hypnosis. Incest-related syndromes of adult psychopathology, American Psychiatric Press.","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9798894550060"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-843X.94.3.249","article-title":"Hypnotic hallucination alters evoked potentials","volume":"94","author":"Spiegel","year":"1976","journal-title":"Journal of Abnormal Psychology"},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Spiegel, H., and Spiegel, D. (2004). Trance and treatment: Clinical uses of hypnosis, American Psychiatric Publishing. [2nd ed.].","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9781615377497"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1037\/h0036681","article-title":"Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences (\u201cabsorption\u201d), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility","volume":"83","author":"Tellegen","year":"1974","journal-title":"Journal of Abnormal Psychology"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"298","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2019.02.013","article-title":"The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials","volume":"99","author":"Thompson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews"},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"van der Hart, O., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., and Steele, K. (2006). The haunted self: Structural dissociation and the treatment of chronic traumatization, W. W. Norton."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1047","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2009.05.031","article-title":"Pain and non-pain processing during hypnosis: A thulium-YAG event-related fMRI study","volume":"47","author":"Vanhaudenhuyse","year":"2009","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"678","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.64.4.678","article-title":"Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment","volume":"64","author":"Waterman","year":"1993","journal-title":"Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_61","unstructured":"Watkins, J. G., and Watkins, H. H. (1997). Ego states: Theory and therapy, W. W. Norton."},{"key":"ref_62","unstructured":"Weitzenhoffer, A. M., and Hilgard, E. R. (1959). Stanford hypnotic susceptibility scale, forms A and B, Consulting Psychologists Press."},{"key":"ref_63","unstructured":"Weitzenhoffer, A. M., and Hilgard, E. R. (1962). Stanford hypnotic susceptibility scale, form C, Consulting Psychologists Press."},{"key":"ref_64","unstructured":"Lynn, S. J., and Rhue, J. W. (1994). A frontal assault on dissociated control. Dissociation: Clinical and theoretical perspectives, Guilford Press."},{"key":"ref_65","unstructured":"Zeig, J. K. (1985). Ericksonian psychotherapy: Vol. 1. Structures, Brunner\/Mazel."}],"container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/3\/395\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T11:27:32Z","timestamp":1773055652000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-328X\/16\/3\/395"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"references-count":65,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["bs16030395"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/bs16030395","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-328X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-328X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]}}}