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The Journal of Neuroscience, August 22, 2007, 27(34):9141-9145; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0924-07.2007

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Brief Communications
To Do or Not to Do: The Neural Signature of Self-Control

Marcel Brass1,2 and Patrick Haggard3

1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany, 2Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium, and 3Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Marcel Brass, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Email: marcel.brass{at}ugent.be

Voluntary action is fundamental to human existence. Recent research suggests that volition involves a specific network of brain activity, centered on the fronto-median cortex. An important but neglected aspect of intentional action involves the decision whether to act or not. This decision process is crucial in daily life because it allows us to form intentions without necessarily implementing them. In the present study, we investigate the neural correlates of intentionally inhibiting actions using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Our data show that a specific area of the fronto-median cortex is more strongly activated when people prepare manual actions but then intentionally cancel them, compared with when they prepare and then complete the same actions. Our results suggest that the human brain network for intentional action includes a control structure for self-initiated inhibition or withholding of intended actions. The mental control of action has an enduring scientific interest, linked to the philosophical concept of "free will." Our results identify a candidate brain area that reflects the crucial decision to do or not to do.

Key words: intentional processing; response inhibition; cognitive control; prefrontal cortex; fMRI; anterior insula

Received March 1, 2007; revised May 30, 2007; accepted June 25, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Marcel Brass, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Email: marcel.brass{at}ugent.be


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