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Published on: September 11, 2021
What Is the Readiness Potential?
Aaron Schurger1, Pengbo 'Ben' Hu2, Joanna Pak3
1Department of Psychology, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA 92867, USA; Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, 14725 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92618, USA; INSERM, Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, NeuroSpin Center, Gif sur Yvette 91191, France; Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Direction des Sciences du Vivant, I2BM, NeuroSpin Center, Gif sur Yvette 91191, France.
Abstract:
The readiness potential (RP), a slow buildup of electrical potential recorded at the scalp using electroencephalography, has been associated with neural activity involved in movement preparation. It became famous thanks to Benjamin Libet (Brain 1983;106:623-642), who used the time difference between the RP and self-reported time of conscious intention to move to argue that we lack free will. The RP's informativeness about self-generated action and derivatively about free will has prompted continued research on this neural phenomenon. Here, we argue that recent advances in our understanding of the RP, including computational modeling of the phenomenon, call for a reassessment of its relevance for understanding volition and the philosophical problem of free will.
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