title: Intention-based and stimulus-based mechanisms in action selection.
abstract: Human actions can be classified as being either more stimulus-based or more intention-based. According to the ideomotor framework of action control, intention-based actions primarily refer to anticipated action effects (in other words response-stimulus [R-S] bindings), whereas stimulus-based actions are commonly assumed to be more strongly determined by stimulus-response [S-R] bindings. We explored differences in the functional signatures of both modes of action control in a temporal bisection task. Participants either performed a choice response by pressing one out of two keys in response to a preceding stimulus (stimulus-based action), or pressed one out of two keys to produce the next stimulus (intention-based action). In line with the ideomotor framework, we found intention-based actions to be shifted in time towards their anticipated effects (the next stimulus), whereas stimulus-based actions were shifted towards their preceding stimulus. Event-related potentials (ERPs) in the EEG revealed marked differences in action preparation for the two tasks. The data as a whole provide converging evidence for functional differences in the selection of motor actions as a function of their triggering conditions, and support the notion of two different modes of action selection, one being exogenous or mainly stimulus-driven, the other being endogenous or mainly intention-driven.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Amalienstr. 33, 80799, Munich, Germany. f.waszak@gmx.net
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Waszak
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wascher
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Iring
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Gisa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aschersleben
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Prinz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D014836:Volition / Q000502:physiology*