Abstract

We used positron emission tomography to contrast changes in cerebral blood flow associated with willed and routine acts. In the six tasks used, volunteers had to make a series of responses to a sequence of stimuli. For the routine acts, each response was completely specified by the stimulus. For the willed acts, the response was open-ended and therefore volunteers had to make a deliberate choice. Willed acts in the two response modalities studied (speaking a word, or lifting a finger) were associated with increased blood flow in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 46). Willed acts were also associated with decreases in blood flow, but the location of these decreases was modality dependent.

Keywords

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortexPrefrontal cortexPsychologyDorsolateralModalitiesNeuroscienceContrast (vision)Modality (human–computer interaction)Stimulus (psychology)Cerebral blood flowPositron emission tomographyAction (physics)Cognitive psychologyMedicineCognitionInternal medicinePhysicsComputer scienceSociology

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Publication Info

Year
1991
Type
article
Volume
244
Issue
1311
Pages
241-246
Citations
902
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Chris Frith, Karl Friston, Peter F. Liddle et al. (1991). Willed action and the prefrontal cortex in man: a study with PET. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences , 244 (1311) , 241-246. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1991.0077

Identifiers

DOI
10.1098/rspb.1991.0077