Definition of: automatism

(ô·tom′ə·tiz′əm) noun
1. The state or quality of being automatic; automatic action.
2. Philos. The theory that consciousness does not control one's actions but is only a by-product of physiological changes.
3. Physiol. The functioning or power of functioning of muscular or other processes in response to external stimuli but independent of conscious control, as winking.
4. Biol. Spontaneous activity of cells and tissues, as the beating of a heart freed from its nervous connections.
5. Psychol. a A condition in which actions are performed without the conscious knowledge or will of the subject. b Any such action.
6. Suspension of the conscious mind in order to release for expression the repressed ideas and images of the subconscious, as practiced by surrealist artists and writers.
—au·tom′a·tist noun