Acute assessment of subjective appetite and implicated hormones after a hypnosis-induced hallucinated meal: a randomized cross-over pilot trial
Iolanda Cioffi, Roberto Gambino, Rosalba Rosato, Bice Properzi, Giuseppe Regaldo, Valentina Ponzo, Marianna Pellegrini, Franco Contaldo, Fabrizio Pasanisi, Ezio Ghigo, Simona Bo, Iolanda Cioffi, Roberto Gambino, Rosalba Rosato, Bice Properzi, Giuseppe Regaldo, Valentina Ponzo, Marianna Pellegrini, Franco Contaldo, Fabrizio Pasanisi, Ezio Ghigo, Simona Bo
Abstract
The use of hypnosis can generate hallucinatory phenomena, which ranged from vivid/auditory imagery to fully developed "hallucinations" in selected people. The aim of this pilot trial was investigating the acute effects of a hypnosis-induced hallucinated breakfast (HB) compared to those of a real breakfast (RB) on subjective appetite and appetite-regulating hormones in highly hypnotizable individuals. Eight healthy post-menopausal women were recruited to consume two meals: the HB and the RB in a randomized crossover design. Participants underwent appetite sensations measurements (before meal and each 30-min until 270-min) and blood sample collection (at 0, 20, 60, 90, 180-min). A 3-day food-record was filled after each meal. The adjusted repeated measures ANCOVA did not show any meal×time interactions on subjective appetite postprandially. As expected, significantly higher glucose (p < 0.001), insulin (p < 0.001), and lower free fatty acid (p < 0.001) concentrations were found after the RB, but not following HB. Furthermore, RB significantly increased postprandial levels of glucagon-like-peptide-1 and peptide-YY at 20, 60, 90 and 180-min, whereas acylated-ghrelin and leptin levels did not differ. Postprandial neuropeptide-Y and orexin-A values significantly increased at different time-points after RB, but not following HB, while α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone levels enhanced after HB only. Energy intakes were significantly lower after HB on the test-day only (HB = 1146.6 ± 343.8 vs RB = 1634.7 ± 274.2 kcal/d; p = 0.003). Appetite sensation might be modulated by fully developed meal "hallucination" induced by hypnosis, likely affecting brain-peptides implicated in the appetite regulation. However, further studies are needed to verify these results obtained in a highly selected group of individuals. NCT03934580.
Keywords: Appetite; Hypnosis; Obesity; Orexin, Neuropeptide-Y.
Source: PubMed