Some sceptics may view hypnosis as a hoax, but a multidisciplinary group of researchers may have found proof that there is such a thing.

Researchers from the University of Turku and Aalto University in Finland, and Sweden's University of Skovde have been studying evidence for the existence of a hypnotic state.

A proof of which, the researchers said, is in the eyes - a key that the researchers said could eventually lead to a solution to hypnotism's debate. To be specific, the researchers have considered the popularly known glazed, wide-open look in the eyes.

This appearance of the eyes has not been considered to have any major importance among researchers and has never been studied in any detail before. This is due to the fact that it can only be seen in some hypnotized people.

The study was done on a very highly hypnotizable participant, who the researchers said can be snapped in and out of hypnosis by just using a one-word cue. By having such a subject, they will be able to tell the changes between the hypnotic state and the normal state in seconds.

Using a high-resolution eye-tracking methodology and a set of well-established oculomotor tasks that trigger automatic eye behavior, they discovered that the glazed stare was accompanied by objectively measureable changes in the automatic, reflexive eye behavior.

The researchers said that these measurable changes could not be imitated by non-hypnotized participants.

With these findings in the field of hypnosis research, hypnosis can no longer be seen as mental imagery that takes place during a totally normal waking state of consciousness.

The researchers noted their results may have wider consequences for psychology and cognitive neuroscience since it provides evidence of the existence of a conscious state in humans that had not been scientifically confirmed.