Ezequiel Morsella, Ph.D.
Professor - San Francisco State University and UCSF
Assistant Adjunct Professor (UCSF)
Address:
Ezequiel Morsella, Ph.D.,
Department of Psychology
San Francisco State University,
1600 Holloway Ave, EP 301
San Francisco, CA 94132
Email:
Curriculum Vitae:
Biography:
A theoretician and experimentalist in neuroscience, Ezequiel Morsella is interested in the differences in the brain between the conscious and unconscious aspects of human action control. Such control requires a medley of high-level, executive functions. He carried out Ph.D. training at Columbia University and postdoctoral training at Yale University. Since his pre-college days, he has been focusing on the nature of the conscious (e.g., urges and working memory) and unconscious brain mechanisms in human action control. Morsella uses 'response interference paradigms,' including the Reflexive Imagery Task, to learn about the subjective aspects of action production (e.g., urges). He also uses 'delayed action tasks' to learn about the subjective aspects of working memory-based action control (e.g., imagery, sense of agency).
In collaboration with Adam Gazzaley, Morsella is evaluating theoretical developments (e.g., Passive Frame Theory) regarding consciousness and the brain using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques. (Passive Frame Theory was introduced to the literature as a target article in Behavioral and Brain Sciences [see publication below].) In addition, with the assistance of the neurologist Stephen Krieger and colleagues at the UCSF Memory and Aging center, he is examining the implications of the theory for the study of disorders of awareness and disorders involving action selection (e.g., frontotemporal dementia).
Featured Publications:
- Morsella, E., Godwin, C. A., Jantz, T. J., Krieger, S. C., Gazzaley, A. Homing in on consciousness in the nervous system: An action-based synthesis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2016)
- Morsella, E., Godwin, C. A., Jantz, T. J., Krieger, S. C., & Gazzaley, A. Passive frame theory: A new synthesis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2016)
- Allen, A. K., Wilkins, K., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Consciousness and Cognition 22(4): 1318-1331(2013) Conscious thoughts from reflex-like processes: A new experimental paradigm for consciousness research Consciousness and Cognition (2013)
- Morsella, E., Wilson, L.E., Berger, C.C., Honhongva, M., Gazzaley, A., Bargh, J.A. Subjective aspects of cognitive control at different stages of processing Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics (2009)
- Cho, H., Zarolia, P., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Involuntary symbol manipulation (Pig Latin) from external control: Implications for thought suppression Acta Psychologica (2016)
- Merrick, C., Farnia, M., Jantz, T. K., Gazzaley, A., Morsella, E. External control of the stream of consciousness: Stimulus-based effects on involuntary thought sequences Consciousness and Cognition (2014)
- Godwin, C.A., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. In Pereira, A. & Lehmann, D.’s (Eds.), The unity of mind, brain and world: Current perspectives on a science of consciousness Homing in on the brain mechanisms linked to consciousness: Buffer of the perception-and-action interface. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press (2013)
- Morsella, E., & Lanska, M., Berger, C. C., & Gazzaley, A. Indirect cognitive control through top-down activation of perceptual symbols European Journal of Social Psychology (2009)
- Hubbard, J., Rigby, T., Godwin, C. A., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Representations in working memory yield interference effects found with externally-triggered representations Acta Psychologica (2013)
- Jantz, T. K., Tomory, J. J., Merrick, C., Cooper, S., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Subjective aspects of working memory performance: Memoranda-related imagery Consciousness and Cognition (2014)
- Morsella, E., Zarolia, P., & Gazzaley, A. Cognitive conflict and consciousness In B. Gawronski & F. Strack (Eds.), Cognitive consistency: A unifying concept in social psychology (pp. 19-46). New York: Guilford (2011)
- Jantz, T. K., Tomory, J. J., Merrick, Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Subjective aspects of action control for delayed actions: Action-related imagery Journal of Mental Imagery (2014)
- Hubbard, J., Gazzaley, A., & Morsella, E. Traditional response interference from anticipated action outcomes: A response-effect compatability paradigm Acta Psychologia (2011)
- Velasquez, A. G., Gazzaley, A., Toyoda, H., Ziegler, D. A., & Morsella, E. The generation of involuntary mental imagery in an ecologically-valid task Frontiers in Psychology (2021)
- Gardnera, K., Walkera, E.B., Lia, Y., Gazzaley, A., Morsella, E. Involuntary attentional shifts as a function of set and processing fluency Acta Psychologica (2020)
Talks / Podcasts:
- Apr 2016 Passive Frame Theory: A New Synthesis. Northern California Consciousness Conference. University of California, Davis