Braid debunked the idea that a "magnetic fluid" passed from the operator to the patient.
His methods significantly influenced French pioneers like Charcot and Bernheim, whose work later shaped the theories of Sigmund Freud . Community Perspectives NEURYPNOLOGY James Braid
Initially, Braid believed the state was caused by physical fatigue of the eyes and nervous system from fixed staring. Braid debunked the idea that a "magnetic fluid"
For a deeper look at Braid's medical career and his "crucial experiment," see the academic overview on ResearchGate . For a deeper look at Braid's medical career
“He recognized that hypnosis was a subjective phenomenon, dependent entirely on the state of mind of the hypnotized and not on any mystical fluid or occult magical power wielded by the hypnotizer.” Peter Harrington Recommended Versions of the Article
“I regard this book as THE fountain head of hypnosis. Braid not only gives us the word we now use for our subject, but brought to it a clarity of thought and an energy of experimentation which is unparallelled.” Ragged University
Braid coined the terms "hypnotism" and "hypnosis" in this book, though he later preferred "monoideism" when he realized the state was not actually sleep.