Article,

Intention-based and stimulus-based mechanisms in action selection

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Experimental Brain Research, (2005)
DOI: DOI 10.1007/s00221-004-2183-8

Abstract

Human actions can be classified as being either more stimulus-based or more intention-based. According to the ideomotor framework of action control, intentionbased actions primarily refer to anticipated action effects (in other words response-stimulus R-S bindings), whereas stimulus-based actions are commonly assumed to be more strongly determined by stimulus-response SR bindings. We explored differences in the functional signatures of both modes of action control in a temporal bisection task. Participants either performed a choice response by pressing one out of two keys in response to a preceding stimulus (stimulus-based action), or pressed one out of two keys to produce the next stimulus (intentionbased action). In line with the ideomotor framework, we found intention-based actions to be shifted in time towards their anticipated effects (the next stimulus), whereas stimulus-based actions were shifted towards their preceding stimulus. Event-related potentials (ERPs) in the EEG revealed marked differences in action preparation for the two tasks. The data as a whole provide converging evidence for functional differences in the selection of motor actions as a function of their triggering conditions, and support the notion of two different modes of action selection, one being exogenous or mainly stimulus-driven, the other being endogenous or mainly intention-driven.

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