eprintid: 1393906 rev_number: 28 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/01/39/39/06 datestamp: 2013-05-20 20:56:30 lastmod: 2021-10-21 00:06:32 status_changed: 2013-05-20 20:56:30 type: article metadata_visibility: show item_issues_count: 0 creators_name: Filevich, E creators_name: Haggard, P title: Persistence of internal representations of alternative voluntary actions. ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C07 divisions: D05 divisions: F69 keywords: Hick’s law, free action, reselection, response selection, volition note: © 2013 Filevich and Haggard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc. PMCID: PMC3644713 abstract: We have investigated a situation in which externally available response alternatives and their internal representations could be dissociated, by suddenly removing some action alternatives from the response space during the interval between the free selection and the execution of a voluntary action. Choice reaction times in this situation were related to the number of initially available response alternatives, rather than to the number of alternatives available effectively available after the change in the external environment. The internal representations of response alternatives appeared to persist after external changes actually made the corresponding action unavailable. This suggests a surprising dynamics of voluntary action representations: counterfactual response alternatives persist, and may even be actively maintained, even when they are not available in reality. Our results highlight a representational basis for the counterfactual course of action. Such representations may play a key role in feelings of regret, disappointment, or frustration. These feelings all involve persistent representation of counterfactual response alternatives that may not actually be available in the environment. date: 2013-05-06 official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00202 vfaculties: VFBRS oa_status: green full_text_type: pub pmcid: PMC3644713 language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Journal Article verified: verified_manual elements_source: PubMed elements_id: 870731 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00202 lyricists_name: Haggard, Patrick lyricists_id: PHAGG98 full_text_status: public publication: Front Psychol volume: 4 article_number: 202 event_location: Switzerland citation: Filevich, E; Haggard, P; (2013) Persistence of internal representations of alternative voluntary actions. Front Psychol , 4 , Article 202. 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00202 <https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00202>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1393906/1/fpsyg-04-00202.pdf