Behavioral Sciences
March 9, 2026
Luis Miguel Gallardo, Saamdu Chetri
3 citations
Hypnosis, long seen as a clinical tool for reducing symptoms like pain and anxiety, actually works by reorganizing how the brain processes emotions and self-awareness. This review proposes that hypnotic induction reconfigures large-scale brain networks—the default mode network, executive control network, and salience network—to create heightened experiential plasticity, enabling adaptive emotion regulation and reducing dissociative fragmentation. The authors introduce 'Fundamental Peace' as a dynamic neuro-experiential state of flexible attention, emotional coherence, reduced self-referential rigidity, and compassionate self-awareness. Neuroimaging shows hypnotic states reduce DMN activity and enhance ECN-SaN coupling. Meta-analysis of 85 controlled trials confirms robust pain reduction, and clinical studies show improvements in trauma-related dissociation and emotional dysregulation.
Preprints.org
April 7, 2026
Luis Miguel Gallardo
preprint
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) are a universal human capacity for accessing and transforming the subconscious mind, employed through diverse contemplative, somatic, pharmacological, ritual, and technological modalities. This review synthesizes evidence from over 25 disciplines, finding converging neurobiological mechanisms including default mode network suppression, autonomic regulation, and neuroplasticity. Clinical evidence is strongest for MDMA-assisted therapy in PTSD (67% response rate in Phase 3 RCTs), psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression (60-70% response), EMDR for trauma, mindfulness for depression relapse and anxiety, and neurofeedback for ADHD and anxiety. Transpersonal modalities like Life Between Lives hypnotherapy show preliminary evidence for existential distress but lack rigorous controlled trials. The review proposes an integrative framework positioning ASC as a spectrum from subconscious to superconscious, with diverse modalities as complementary vehicles for consciousness transformation.
Preprints.org
February 27, 2026
Luis Miguel Gallardo
preprint
Transpersonal psychology, psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy have developed from their 1960s origins into a 'fourth force' that integrates spiritual and consciousness dimensions into psychological practice. Based on 283 scholarly sources, the field evolved from studying altered states to addressing human transcendence and wholeness across cultures. Key contributions include experiential therapies, consciousness research methods, and models bridging Eastern and Western traditions. Opportunities exist in neuroscience, cross-cultural work, and evidence-based practice, while challenges remain in empirical validation, theoretical coherence, and mainstream acceptance.
Preprints.org
January 30, 2026
Luis Miguel Gallardo, Saamdu Chetri
preprint
Hypnosis, traditionally seen as a clinical technique for symptom reduction, may more fundamentally function as a mechanism of emotion regulation and self-integration. This integrative review proposes that hypnotic states reorganize emotional experience and self-referential processing by modulating large-scale brain networks—the default mode network, executive control network, and salience network. The authors introduce a formal model in which hypnotic induction enhances experiential plasticity through coordinated network reconfiguration, enabling adaptive emotion regulation and reduced dissociative fragmentation. Central to this framework is the construct of Fundamental Peace, a dynamic neuro-experiential state involving flexible attentional control, emotional coherence across self-states, reduced self-referential rigidity, and compassionate self-awareness, distinct from equanimity or well-being. The framework is evaluated against alternative theories, and testable predictions are specified.