The role of hypnosis and meditation in consciousness research

Zoltan Dienes
Interviewed by Jean-Rémy Martin

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keywords
consciousness, hypnosis, meditation, metacognition

Abstract
In this interview, Zoltan Dienes (Brighton, UK), specialist in consciousness studies, answers questions related to hypnosis and meditation: Why are hypnosis and mindfulness interesting topics for the study of consciousness? Is the notion of altered state of consciousness a useful notion in the context of hypnosis and mindfulness? What do we know about the neurocognitive mechanisms sustaining the action of hypnosis and mindfulness? There is a long tradition of using hypnosis clinically, particularly as an analgesic method; might mindfulness and hypnosis work in the same way? Building on his empirical and theoretical research on hypnosis and meditation, Zoltan Dienes gives us his answers. Hypnosis and meditation are postulated to engage metacognitive processes, though in opposite ways.