TY - JOUR
T1 - Analysis of a choice-reaction task yields a new interpretation of Libet's experiments
AU - Herrmann, Christoph S.
AU - Pauen, Michael
AU - Min, Byoung Kyong
AU - Busch, Niko A.
AU - Rieger, Jochem W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We express our thanks to Yvonne Wolff for recording the data and to Burkhard Maess and Kathie Ziehr for valuable discussions concerning the manuscript. CSH was supported by the Max Planck Society, JWR was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, grant JR 1511/1-3), CSH and JWR were supported by the Bundesmisterium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, grant FKZ: 01GO00202, Center for Advanced Imaging).
PY - 2008/2
Y1 - 2008/2
N2 - Benjamin Libet has demonstrated that the readiness potential precedes the time at which participants consciously decide to perform an intentional motor act, and suggested that free will is an illusion. We performed an experiment where participants observed a stimulus on a computer monitor and were instructed to press one of two buttons, depending on the presented stimulus. We found neural activity preceding the motor response, similar to Libet's experiments. However, this activity was already present prior to stimulus presentation, and thus before participants could decide which button to press. Therefore, we argue that this activity does not specifically determine behaviour. Instead, it may reflect a general expectation. This interpretation would not interfere with the notion of free will.
AB - Benjamin Libet has demonstrated that the readiness potential precedes the time at which participants consciously decide to perform an intentional motor act, and suggested that free will is an illusion. We performed an experiment where participants observed a stimulus on a computer monitor and were instructed to press one of two buttons, depending on the presented stimulus. We found neural activity preceding the motor response, similar to Libet's experiments. However, this activity was already present prior to stimulus presentation, and thus before participants could decide which button to press. Therefore, we argue that this activity does not specifically determine behaviour. Instead, it may reflect a general expectation. This interpretation would not interfere with the notion of free will.
KW - Bereitschaftsfeld
KW - Bereitschaftspotential
KW - EEG
KW - MEG
KW - Voluntary action
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.10.013
DO - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.10.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 18096261
AN - SCOPUS:38549113420
SN - 0167-8760
VL - 67
SP - 151
EP - 157
JO - International Journal of Psychophysiology
JF - International Journal of Psychophysiology
IS - 2
ER -