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. 2007 Aug 22;27(34):9141-5.
doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0924-07.2007.

To do or not to do: the neural signature of self-control

Marcel Brass  1 , Patrick Haggard
Affiliations

To do or not to do: the neural signature of self-control

Marcel Brass et al. J Neurosci. .

Abstract

Voluntary action is fundamental to human existence. Recent research suggests that volition involves a specific network of brain activity, centered on the fronto-median cortex. An important but neglected aspect of intentional action involves the decision whether to act or not. This decision process is crucial in daily life because it allows us to form intentions without necessarily implementing them. In the present study, we investigate the neural correlates of intentionally inhibiting actions using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Our data show that a specific area of the fronto-median cortex is more strongly activated when people prepare manual actions but then intentionally cancel them, compared with when they prepare and then complete the same actions. Our results suggest that the human brain network for intentional action includes a control structure for self-initiated inhibition or withholding of intended actions. The mental control of action has an enduring scientific interest, linked to the philosophical concept of "free will." Our results identify a candidate brain area that reflects the crucial decision to do or not to do.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic drawing of the experimental conditions. In the action condition, participants had to initiate a willed action and judge the onset of their intention. In the inhibition condition, they had to initiate an action but then inhibit it in the last moment. Again, they were required to judge the onset of the intention to act. In the tone condition, a tone was presented, and participants had to judge the onset of the tone. max., Maximum.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A, Activation in the dFMC for the contrast of inhibition versus action trials. The z-map is thresholded at z > 3.09 (p < 0.001). B, Activation in the left anterior ventral insula for the contrast of inhibition versus action trials.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A, Parameter estimates for the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the pre-SMA for the three experimental conditions (inhibition, action, tone). B, Parameter estimates for the BOLD signal in the anterior fronto-median cortex (aFMC) for the three experimental conditions (inhibition, action, tone).
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