AUTOMATISM

noun Etymology: French ~e, from automate automaton, from Latin automaton Date: 1838 1. the quality or state of being automatic, an automatic action, the moving or functioning (as of an organ, tissue, or a body part) without conscious control that occurs either independently of external stimuli (as in the beating of the heart) or under the influence of external stimuli (as in pupil dilation), a theory that views the body as a machine and consciousness as a noncontrolling adjunct of the body, suspension of the conscious mind to release subconscious images , automatist noun or adjective