Previews and prospects for the cognitive neuroscience of hypnosis and conscious states

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide an overview of core issues in the development of the cognitive neuroscience of hypnosis and conscious states as they emerge in the following chapters. The integration of neurophysiological, behavioural and phenomenological data into broad theoretical frameworks spanning across traditionally discreet levels of analysis is highlighted. Functional connectivity is identified as a unifying theme for future electrophysical and imaging studies of hypnosis and conscious states. Careful attention to the ecological context of functionally significant neurophysiological systems is argued to be an essential component to building such integrated models. It both previews individual contributions and locates them within this wider framework of issues and themes in the cognitive neuroscience of conscious states. The case is made for the ongoing development of a mutually informative dialogue between the emerging cognitive neuroscience of consciousness and hypnosis research.