Autonomic Correlates of Meditation and Hypnosis

Abstract

Peripheral autonomic responses during meditation and autohypnosis are compared with controls. HR, Resp, and GSR were assessed during a meditation/hypnosis period and compared to both pre- and post-baseline conditions for three groups of 10 Ss each: Transcendental Meditators, Ss trained in autohypnosis, and control Ss. All Ss were selected for high susceptibility to hypnosis. There were no significant differences between groups on any initial baseline measures. All groups showed a marked reduction of all autonomic measures during the experimental period. Meditators showed a more persistent reduction of HR extending into the post-baseline condition. The results suggest that, at least for the measures investigated, meditation and hypnosis do not differ markedly from each other nor from instructed relaxation.