Enriched volition: Generation of Goal-Directed Action explored using a Problem-Solving Paradigm
Year: 2023
Type: preprint
Abstract: Voluntary action is a distinctive feature of the human mind, and a central focus for investigation in psychology. However, volition is difficult to capture in the experimental laboratory. Previous studies often focussed on initiation of arbitrary, inconsequential actions, and struggled to provide convincing methodologies for studying volition. This study aimed to enrich the experimental study of volition by developing a new view of volition as means-ends problem solving, through investigating planning and execution of action sequences that approach a goal. In an fMRI experiment, we used the neuropsychological ‘Tower of London’ task to reveal the neurofunctional underpinnings of goal-directed voluntary actions in comparison to the instructed, stimulus-driven execution of the same task. Our results show the medial frontal cortex activations that are characteristic of voluntary, as opposed to stimulus-triggered actions, most notably during the planning phase. Finally, we showed functional connectivity between medial frontal cortex and multiple prefrontal regions such as the superior frontal gyrus and anterior and middle cingulate cortex. We suggest this connectivity links generation of each individual action to the wider networks for planning, goal representation and other executive function. Incorporating goals into studies of volition could potentially transform the academic field, restoring it to its central place within human psychology.
Language: English
Topic: Free Will and Agency
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4386806811