Braid
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Braid was an English physician and one of the principal founders of hypnology. He discovered that staring at a bright point while concentrating on thoughts of sleep induces a state resembling natural sleep, and he coined the term 'hypnotism' while emphasizing the role of suggestion.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
Braid, James (James Braid, 1795-1860), English physician, one of the principal founders of hypnology. The experiments of the French mesmerist La Fontaine aroused B.'s interest and led him to discover that staring at a bright point, while simultaneously concentrating on thoughts of sleep, induces in a person a state extremely similar to natural sleep. Denying the significance of any animal magnetism here, B. anticipated the decisive role of suggestion in hypnosis and proposed the very term 'hypnotism.' B. set forth his views in two major works: 'Neurohypnology' (1841) and 'The Power of the Mind over the Body' (1846).
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“Braid.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/braid/