Lesion network localization of free will
Abstract
Free will consists of a desire to act (volition) and a sense of responsibility for that action (agency), but the brain regions responsible for these processes remain unknown. We found that brain lesions that disrupt volition occur in many different locations, but fall within a single brain network, defined by connectivity to the anterior cingulate. Lesions that disrupt agency also occur in many different locations, but fall within a separate network, defined by connectivity to the precuneus. Together, these networks may underlie our perception of free will, with implications for neuropsychiatric diseases in which these processes are impaired.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- October 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1814117115
- Bibcode:
- 2018PNAS..11510792D