Scientific studies.the term hypnotism

The term hypnotism was used by James Braid, a British doctor who studied suggestion and hypnosis in the mid-1800's. Braid pointed out that hypnosis differed from sleep and that hypnotism was a physiological response in the subject, not the result of secret powers. Perhaps Braid's most valuable contribution was his attempt to define hypnotism as a phenomenon that could be scientifically studied. During this same period, James Esdaile, a Scottish doctor working in India, began to use hypnotism as an anaesthetic in major surgery, including leg amputations. He performed about 200 operations with the aid of hypnosis.

During the late 1800's, the French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot performed landmark experiments involving hypnosis. He found that hypnosis relieved many nervous conditions. His clinic for nervous disorders achieved a widespread reputation among scientists of the time, including the French psychologist Alfred Binet and the Austrian doctor Sigmund Freud. Also in the late 1800's, the French doctors Hippolyte Bernheim and Ambroise Auguste Liebeault explored the role of suggestibility in hypnosis. These two scientists used hypnosis to treat more than 12,000 patients.

Freud was especially interested in the work of Charcot and Bernheim. He used hypnotized people in his early studies of the unconscious state. For various reasons, Freud abandoned the use of hypnosis in his clinical practice. However, he continued to view hypnosis as an important research phenomenon. Late in his life, Freud modified his once negative views on hypnotism.

During the early 1900's, the Russian physiologist and psychologist Ivan Pavlov sought to discover a physiological basis of hypnosis. Pavlov maintained that hypnosis is based on inhibition (blockage) of certain nerve impulses in the brain.

Hypnotism became widely used by doctors and psychologists during World War I and World War II. Hypnosis was used to treat battle fatigue and mental disorders resulting from war. After the wars, scientists found additional uses of hypnotism in clinical treatment.