Lateral asymmetry in bodily response to hypnotic suggestions.

Individual hypnotic inductions were administered to 80 right handers and 6 nonright handers. Lateral asymmetry in bodily responsiveness to suggestions was assessed. Overall, right handers were more responsive on the left than right side of the body. There was also a significant interaction between sex and eye (sighting) dominance on asymmetry in body response. Nonright handers were more responsive on the right side of the body. The findings support the view that among right handers hypnosis is associated with relatively greater right hemispheric activation. The implications of the findings are discussed in regard to asymmetry in bodily manifestation of psychogenic disorders.