Author Interviews, Mental Health Research, UCSF / 09.02.2015
Study Demonstrates External Control of Two Thoughts In The Stream of Consciousness
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Ezequiel Morsella, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neuroscience Department of Psychology
San Francisco State University Assistant Adjunct Professor
Department of Neurology University of California, San Francisco
Boardmember, Scientific Advisory Board
Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Morsella: Previous studies have demonstrated that, under certain experimental conditions, conscious processes in the brain can function in a way that resembles reflexes. In past research, a single ‘high-level’ thought (e.g., the name of a visually-presented object) was triggered involuntarily by external stimuli. The current research is the first to trigger, not one, but two high-level unintentional conscious thoughts. In this experiment, participants were presented with an object (e.g., the picture of a star) and instructed to not subvocalize (i.e., name in one’s head but not aloud) the name of the object nor count the number of letters comprising the name of the object. On many trials, participants experienced both cognitions (e.g., “STAR” and “4”), even though these thoughts were against the intentions of the participant. Thus, this is the first demonstration of external control of two thoughts in the stream of consciousness. This research is based in part on the pioneering investigations of Wegner, of Gollwitzer, and of Ach.
(more…)