He argued that hypnosis is triggered by the fixation of attention on a single object or idea.
Braid coined the terms "hypnotism" and "hypnosis" in this book, though he later preferred "monoideism" when he realized the state was not actually sleep. NEURYPNOLOGY James Braid
Initially, Braid believed the state was caused by physical fatigue of the eyes and nervous system from fixed staring. He argued that hypnosis is triggered by the
A concise look at Braid’s legacy as the "Father of Hypnosis" is available on Britannica . A concise look at Braid’s legacy as the
James Braid’s seminal work, Neurypnology; or, the Rationale of Nervous Sleep (1843), is considered the foundational text of modern hypnotism. In it, Braid moved the field away from the mystical "animal magnetism" of Franz Mesmer toward a physiological and scientific understanding of trance as a state of "nervous sleep". Core Principles of Neurypnology
His methods significantly influenced French pioneers like Charcot and Bernheim, whose work later shaped the theories of Sigmund Freud . Community Perspectives