Hypnosis can make people see what they believe, producing changes in the brain that suggest the effects are real, according to research at Stanford University School of Medicine in the US. About two-thirds of the population can be hypnotized and 10 per cent, mostly children, are easily hypnotized. Common medical applications of hypnosis include the treatment of pain, anxiety and phobias, and the research has shown that subjects who are hypnotized during painful procedures could require lower doses of pain-relieving drugs.
(The Daily Telegraph 18/02/02; p.8)

© Health Media Ltd 2002
http://www.health-news.co.uk