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I marvel at the brain’s ability to function almost effortlessly.  Without being conscious of it, we are able to breathe, move, pump blood, maintain heart rate etc…  It’s truly amazing that we are able to accomplish so much without being cognizant of our actions.  However, it frightens me that our brains may be able to do other things without us realizing it ourselves.  

In a recent New York Times article (“In Clue to Addiction, Brain Injury Halts Smoking”- Benedict Carey, published Jan. 26, 2007), the author reports that addictions (this specific case references smoking addictions) are related to the insula region of the frontal lobes.  According to the study, patients with injuries to the insula region are more likely to break their habits than those with intact insulas.  Scientists are discovering that the insula’s strong connections to the thinking cortex and the brain stem provide a link between emotions and physicality.  The insula helps the body to anticipate emotions (pain, pleasure, etc...) unconsciously before we even realize it. 

While it might be comforting to addicts to blame their addictions on an intact insula, it causes me to the question the free will of my conscious brain.  If addictions are created/ maintained by our unconscious brains, what else are we incapable of controlling? As a huge proponent of free will (I’m a political science major), I find the idea of uncontrollable urges very unsettling…