Cyclopentolate

Raz, A., Landzbergc, K. S., Schweizers, H. R., Zephrania, Z. R., Shapirod, T., Fand, J., & Posnerd, M. I. (2003). Post-hypnotic suggestion and the modulation of Stroop interference under cycloplegia. Consciousness and Cognition, 12(3), 332-346. Recent data indicate that under a specific post-hypnotic suggestion to circumvent reading, highly hypnotizable subjects successfully eliminated the Stroop interference effect. This study examined whether an optical explanation (e.g., visual blurring or looking away) could account for this finding. Using cyclopentolate hydrochloride eye drops to pharmacologically prevent visual accommodation in all the subjects, behavioral Stroop data were collected from six highly hypnotizables and six less hypnotizables using an optical setup that guaranteed either sharply focused or blurred vision. The high hypnotizables performed the Stroop task when naturally vigilant, under post-hypnotic suggestion not to read, and while visually blurred, while the lower hypnotizables ran naturally vigilant, while looking away, and while visually blurred. Although visual accommodation was precluded for all subjects, posthypnotic suggestion effectively eliminated Stroop interference and was comparable to looking away in controls. These data strengthen the view that Stroop interference is neither robust nor inevitable and support the hypothesis thai posthypnotic suggestion may exert a top-down influence on neural processing. Address for reprints: Dr. Amir Raz, Dept. of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, White Plains, NY 10605, USA. E-mail: amr2006 @ med. Cornell, edu.

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