Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Integrated neural processes for defining potential actions and deciding between them: a computational model.

Paul Cisek1

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7. paul.cisek@umontreal.ca

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|September 22, 2006
PubMed
Summary

This study presents a computational model where action selection and motor planning are integrated brain processes. It explains how neural activity in frontoparietal cortex resolves action choices and movement parameters.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The continuous dynamics of planning and acting in a virtually embodied task.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

No Central Executive? Decision Formation Through Multi-Area Population Dynamics.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025
Same author

Embodied decision making in athletes and other animals.

Psychology of sport and exercise·2025
Same author

Biomechanical costs influence decisions made during ongoing actions.

Journal of neurophysiology·2024
Same author

Toward a neuroscience of natural behavior.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2024
Same author

Generating meaning: active inference and the scope and limits of passive AI.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2023

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Computational Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Behavioral goals require object selection and movement planning.
  • Traditionally, decision-making and motor planning are studied separately.
  • Neural data indicates integrated processing in shared brain regions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model how potential actions are specified.
  • To model how the brain decides between competing actions.
  • To reconcile neural data with integrated decision-making and action planning theories.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a computational model of neural populations in frontoparietal cortex.
  • Simulated simultaneous representation and competition of potential actions.
  • Incorporated modulatory influences from prefrontal cortex.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Model represents actions as continuous activity regions.
  • Competition for execution is biased by prefrontal cortex.
  • Neural activity patterns correlate with action metrics and decision variables.

Conclusions:

  • The model offers an integrated explanation for neural data.
  • Challenges serial theories of decision-making preceding action planning.
  • Reproduces human choice statistics and generates testable predictions.