Libet's experiment (Libet 1985) is considered proof that human action is not preceded by intentional decisions. In contrast, most philosophers assume that prior intentionality is constitutive for human action (e.g. Nida-Rümelin, 2022). A group led by Florian Kolb (LMU Munich) and Dieter Kutz (WWU Münster) has now been able to make a further contribution to this discourse. In a deliberation task, realised as a colour-word-stroop task, the participants had to decide with which hand to give a motor response or not to trigger a motor response, depending on the colour and meaning of the word. Analyses of EEG recordings show that the deliberation process is based on a two-stage decision: The first decision is characterised by the choice to move or not. The second decision resulted in the final choice of which index finger to use. In particular, the latter decision can be tracked by the local spread of neuronal activity.
Further information can be found in the publication at:
https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.14814/phy2.15522