Voluntary action as problem-solving: an functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

ABSTRACT: The capacity to pursue goals, across a series of intermediate stages, is a distinctive achievement of human cognition. Scientific investigations of goal-directed action have emphasized either of two different aspects of this capacity. Research on executive function has described coordination of extended action sequences that solve multi-part problems. Meanwhile, research on voluntary action has emphasized the processes of endogenous generation and autonomy, which are essential for many complex problems, particularly those involving creativity and insight. Because many complex problems can be solved in several ways, choosing and generating a path through the problem space requires a convergence of executive intelligence and volitional control. Here we use fMRI to explore the links between v

SUBMITTER: Seghezzi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12642695 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature