Figure 2.

Changes in pain-related activity associated with previous hypnotic training by using suggestions for modulating pain sensation (Upper) or pain unpleasantness (Lower). Both images represent data from control scans, in which no hypnotic suggestions were given. Each image represents the subtraction of PET data recorded when the hand was submerged in thermally neutral water (35°C) from data recorded when the hand was submerged in painfully hot water (47°C). PET data were averaged across 10 experimental sessions in the sensory study (Upper) and, in a different group of subjects, 11 experimental sessions in the affective study (Lower). The PET data are illustrated against the average MRI for that subject group. Coronal slices through S1 are centered at the activation peaks, and red circles surround the region of S1.