09 Feb 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.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Morsella: Many of the conscious contents (e.g., urges and thoughts) generated in the brain are generated by processes which themselves are both uncontrollable and unconscious. Action tendencies that can be behaviorally suppressed often cannot be mentally suppressed. Moreover, theorizing suggests that such ‘encapsulation’ of these generative processes is, in most cases, adaptive. If one could control directly these processes (e.g., urges), say, the way one controls the snap of one’s finger, then this would be not adaptive in many cases.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Morsella: Future research could focus on the neural correlates of (a) the processes which (unconsciously) generated the involuntary cognitions and (b) the verbal imagery the follows the presentation of the visual stimulus.
Citation:
Christina Merrick Melika Farnia Tiffany K. Jantz Adam Gazzaley Ezequiel Morsella
Consciousness and Cognition Volume 33, May 2015, Pages 217–225
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:, Ezequiel Morsella, Ph.D., & Associate Professor of Neuroscience Department of Psychology (2015). Study Demonstrates External Control of Two Thoughts In The Stream of Consciousness MedicalResearch.com
Last Updated on February 9, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD