Functional correlates of conversion and hypnotic paralysis: a neurophysiological hypothesis

Abstract

Since conversion disorder was thoroughly described by Pierre Janet psychiatric findings have traditionally been the only available source of contribution to the clarification of the phenomena. Some recent cognitive approaches though, have tried to explain conversion paralysis in terms of a disconnection phenomenon supposedly causative of degeneration in motor information processes. These approaches though relevant are purely theoretical, and only in recent years has neurological research provided sufficient evidence to commence developing a neuropsychological theory of conversion paralysis. Defined cortical regions like the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) have been found to be related to conversion and hypnotic paralysis, while on the other hand, psychological evidence linking hypnotizability and conversion has also emerged. This paper attempts to relate some neurological and psychological evidence in a first step towards a general theory of conversion paralysis. Copyright © 2005 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.