Spontaneous emergence of action decisions and slow ramping in a deep, brain-constrained model of frontotemporal areas

Spontaneous emergence of action decisions and slow ramping in a deep, brain-constrained model of frontotemporal areas | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 26 June 2025 V2 Latest version Share on Spontaneous emergence of action decisions and slow ramping in a deep, brain-constrained model of frontotemporal areas Authors : Nick Griffin 0009-0009-4067-5276 [email protected] , Aaron Schurger , and Max Garagnani 0000-0003-2104-1074 Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174168939.98690318/v2 470 views 139 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract When placed in front of a button and instructed to press it only when they “feel the urge” to do so, humans typically make a “spontaneous” decision to act at seemingly random times, usually between 5 and 30sec from trial start. In such a situation, how does our brain make a decision that the time to act has come? To investigate this question, we used a 6-area brain-constrained neural-network model that accounts for neurophysiological and anatomical features of relevant areas of the cortex. To replicate the experimental settings under which volitional button-presses are performed, we analysed the network activity in absence of any “sensory” input: we observed spontaneous ignitions of previously-learned “perception-action” circuits (linking “visual” information to corresponding “hand/finger movement”) caused by the accumulation of noise within them, which we took as model correlates of self-generated decisions to act. The time to first spontaneous circuit ignition was then used to build a simulated waiting-time histogram. We found that, for select values of the parameters, the network autonomously “decided” to act (or to wait) in a way that accurately reflected participant behaviour under such conditions. Additionally, we found that when the model’s macroscopic behaviour matched that of participants, its microscopic activity prior to a spontaneous ignition event also reproduced the pre-movement slow ramping neural signal (readiness potential, RP) experimentally recorded using electroencephalography. Reproducing both behavioural and brain indexes of spontaneous voluntary movements, the present brain-constrained architecture offers a neuro-mechanistic explanation for the emergence of endogenous action decisions in the human brain in the form of memory traces’ spontaneous ignitions. Our results also speak to the ongoing debate over the interpretation of the RP, suggesting that, rather than reflecting motor preparation (a decision outcome), the emerging RP is pre-decisional, with overt movement being the result of a distributed perception-action circuit spontaneous ignition. Supplementary Material File (spontaneousemergenceofactiondecisionsandslowramping.pdf) Download 2.90 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 11 March 2025 V2 Version 2 26 June 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords deep network free will neurobiologically realistic modelling readiness potential spontaneous thoughts stochastic account voluntary action Authors Affiliations Nick Griffin 0009-0009-4067-5276 [email protected] Goldsmiths University of London View all articles by this author Aaron Schurger Chapman University Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences View all articles by this author Max Garagnani 0000-0003-2104-1074 Goldsmiths University of London View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 470 views 139 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Nick Griffin, Aaron Schurger, Max Garagnani. Spontaneous emergence of action decisions and slow ramping in a deep, brain-constrained model of frontotemporal areas. Authorea . 26 June 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174168939.98690318/v2 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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