Can hypnosis make you ticklish

Abstract

In this presentation I’ll share research exploring ways in which we can use hypnosis as a tool to better understand the cognitive processes involved in self monitoring. Normally we can’t really tickle ourselves. This is because of a quite automatic motor response whereby we attenuate the sensory consequences of self generated actions. In this presentation, I’ll talk about a study where I gave participants hypnotic suggestions designed to make them feel like their own arm movements were externally caused. This led them to experience self-generated actions as much more tickly. This has interesting implications for understanding how hypnosis impacts consciousness and motor control.