Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - automatism

 noun  Etymology: French ~e, from automate automaton, from Latin automaton  Date: 1838  1.  a. the quality or state of being automatic  b. an automatic action  2. 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)  3. a theory that views the body as a machine and consciousness as a noncontrolling adjunct of the body  4. suspension of the conscious mind to release subconscious images ~ —the surrealist trend toward spontaneity and intuition — Elle  • automatist noun or adjective