Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine found changes in three areas of the brain during hypnosis. First, they saw a decrease in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate. Secondly, they saw an increase in connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula. Lastly, they observed reduced connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network, which includes the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex. These critical areas of the brain are associated with attention, emotion, empathy, memory, decision-making, and body function.