ABSTRACT
To describe what happens in hypnosis as an altered state of consciousness may overlook the fact that an alteration in control systems is more often in evidence than any profound change in subjective experience. Hypnosis may modify executive and monitoring functions so that the hierarchical relationships of the subsystems are changed. The central executive functions in hypnosis are typically thought to be divided between the hypnotist and the hypnotized person. The metaphor has long been used of a normal observer standing in the wings and watching the actuated hypnotic subsystem perform at the center of the stage. Alterations in both executive and monitoring functions through hypnosis find their conscious representation most clearly in experiences that are denied conscious representation, as in the memories concealed through hypnotic amnesia and in closely related phenomena. The matter of depth of amnesia is suggested in part by comparison with recovery by automatic writing.
