Hypnosis can induce "synesthetic" experiences – where one sense triggers the involuntary use of another – within an average brain, according to a new study in the journal Psychological Science, the premiere publication of the Association for Psychological Society.

A scientist at the University of Liverpool has found that hypnosis can slow down the impacts of dementia and improve quality of life for those living with the condition.

It was no way for an 11-year-old to live. For a month the boy had endured daily episodes of uncontrollable jerking and foaming at the mouth, and his physicians at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital were concerned that the boy had epilepsy. Before starting the boy on a lifetime of anti-seizure medications, though, they turned to an unconventional diagnostic tool: hypnosis.

Hospitalized patients who smoke may be more likely to quit smoking through the use of hypnotherapy than patients using other smoking cessation methods.

Centuries ago doctors used hypnosis to help relieve the excruciating pain of surgery. It then fell out of favor with the introduction of anesthesia. Now as VOA's Melinda Smith reports, new studies show a host of benefits when hypnosis is used before breast cancer surgery.

The use of hypnosis prior to breast cancer surgery reduced the amount of anesthesia administered during the operation, the level of pain reported afterwards, and the time and cost of the procedure, according to a study published online August 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.