Abstract

OROZCO-CABAL, Luis Felipe; S. BARRATT, Ernest  and  R. BUCCELLO, Regina. Neurobiology of conscious experience: implication of impulsive behavior. Rev. Latinoam. Psicol. [online]. 2007, vol.39, n.1, pp. 109-126. ISSN 0120-0534.

Consciousness and impulsivity are multidimensional constructs related to the control of thoughts and behavior. Impulsivity is a complex personality trait characterized by: acting without thinking, inability to plan ahead of time and poor attention or vigilance. Consciousness is a construct that encompasses a variety of physiological processes related to the experience of awareness and the acquisition of knowledge in human beings. With respect to the control of human behavior, consciousness and impulsivity appear to be related to opposite behaviors. Historically, efforts to understand these constructs by different disciplines have resulted in the development of divergent definitions and a variety of measures, thus causing confusion. The purposes of this article are to: 1) describe examples of solutions to this confusion within impulsivity research and discuss how consciousness research can benefit from the study of impulsivity; 2) discuss how consciousness and impulsivity can be measured within a laboratory and treated as experimental variables; 3) Summarize the lessons learned by comparing impulsive and premeditated acts from an integrated, multidimensional perspective; 4) Discuss the implications of a multidisciplinary model for pursuing consciousness research.

Keywords : Personality; Impulsivity; Impulse control disorders; Consciousness; Mind-body problem.

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