Dissociative identity as a continuum from healthy mind to psychiatric disorders: Epistemological and neurophenomenological implications approached through hypnosis.
Medical hypotheses September 1, 2019 Enrico Facco, Laura Mendozzi, Angelo Bona et al. 16 citations
Five individuals with unusual hypnotic ability, free of psychiatric disorders, spontaneously experienced multiple identities during hypnosis, which they later did not recall due to post-hypnotic amnesia. Brain scans showed reduced connectivity in the Default Mode Network, particularly between the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex. Comparing these findings with fMRI data from Dissociative Identity Disorder patients suggests a continuum between normal mental functioning, where multiple identities can coexist unconsciously, and pathological dissociation. The authors argue that a sharp boundary between normal and pathological experiences may be artificial, and that non-ordinary mental expressions like these should be understood rather than treated.