Whorwell P J, Houghton L A, Taylor E E, Maxton D G
Department of Medicine, University Hospital of South Manchester, UK.
Lancet. 1992 Jul 11;340(8811):69-72. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)90394-i.
Assessment of the physiological effects of physical and emotional stress has been hampered by a lack of suitable laboratory techniques. Since hypnosis can be used safely to induce specific emotional states of considerable intensity, we studied the effect on distal colonic motility of three hypnotically induced emotions (excitement, anger, and happiness) in 18 patients aged 20-48 years with irritable bowel syndrome. Colonic motility index was reduced by hypnosis on its own (mean change 19.1; 95% CI 0.8, 37.3; p less than 0.05) and this change was accompanied by decreases in both pulse (12; 8, 15) and respiration (6; 4, 8) rates (p less than 0.001 for both). Anger and excitement increased the colonic motility index (50.8; 29.4, 72.2; and 30.4; 8.9, 51.9, respectively; p less than 0.01 for both), pulse rate (26; 22, 30; and 28; 24, 32; p less than 0.001 for both), and respiration rate (14; 12, 16; and 12; 10, 14; p less than 0.001 for both). Happiness further reduced colonic motility although not significantly from that observed during hypnosis alone. Changes in motility were mainly due to alterations in rate than in amplitude of contractions. Our results indicate that hypnosis may help in the investigation of the effects of emotion on physiological functions; this approach could be useful outside the gastrointestinal system. Our observation that hypnosis strikingly reduces fasting colonic motility may partly explain the beneficial effects of this form of therapy in functional bowel disorders.
由于缺乏合适的实验室技术，对身体和情绪应激的生理影响的评估受到了阻碍。由于催眠可以安全地用于诱导相当强烈的特定情绪状态，我们研究了在18名年龄在20 - 48岁的肠易激综合征患者中，三种催眠诱导情绪（兴奋、愤怒和快乐）对远端结肠运动的影响。单独催眠会降低结肠运动指数（平均变化19.1；95%置信区间0.8，37.3；p小于0.05），并且这种变化伴随着脉搏（12；8，15）和呼吸（6；4，8）频率的降低（两者p均小于0.001）。愤怒和兴奋会增加结肠运动指数（分别为50.8；29.4，72.2；和30.4；8.9，51.9；两者p均小于0.01）、脉搏率（26；22，30；和28；24，32；两者p均小于0.001）以及呼吸频率（14；12，16；和12；10，14；两者p均小于0.001）。快乐进一步降低了结肠运动，尽管与单独催眠时观察到的情况相比没有显著差异。运动变化主要是由于收缩频率而非幅度的改变。我们的结果表明，催眠可能有助于研究情绪对生理功能的影响；这种方法在胃肠系统之外可能也有用。我们观察到催眠显著降低空腹结肠运动，这可能部分解释了这种治疗形式在功能性肠道疾病中的有益作用。
