Timing and awareness of movement decisions: does consciousness really come too late?

ABSTRACT: Since Libet's seminal observation that a brain potential related to movement preparation occurs before participants report to be aware of their movement intention, it has been debated whether consciousness has causal influence on movement decisions. Here we review recent advances that provide new insights into the dynamics of human decision-making and question the validity of different markers used for determining the onset of neural and conscious events. Motor decisions involve multiple stages of goal evaluation, intention formation, and action execution. While the validity of the Bereitschaftspotential (BP) as index of neural movement preparation is controversial, improved neural markers are able to predict decision outcome even at early stages. Participants report being conscious of the

SUBMITTER: Guggisberg AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3746176 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature