Brain asymmetry eases hypnotic trance

IF HYPNOSIS leaves you unmoved, blame the wiring in your brain. It seems those who find it easier to fall into a trance are more likely to have an imbalance in the efficiency of their brain’s two hemispheres. The finding backs hotly disputed claims of a biological basis for hypnosis.

Around 15 per cent of people are thought to be extremely susceptible to hypnosis, while another 10 per cent are almost impossible to hypnotise. The rest of us fall somewhere in between.

Sceptics argue that rather than being in a genuine…