Nachev, P;
Hacker, P;
(2014)
The neural antecedents to voluntary action: A conceptual analysis.
Cogn Neurosci
1 - 16.
10.1080/17588928.2014.934215.
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Abstract
The inferential standards for testing hypotheses are settled; those for constructing them rarely even discussed. If the fit to the data of a hypothesis matters, then so must its fundamental coherence. That is indeed prior to any other question. Here we make use of conceptual analysis in testing the coherence of hypotheses in cognitive neuroscience and apply it to the study of the antecedents to voluntary action. We show that many influential experiments in the literature are premised-often covertly-on erroneous conceptions that render their hypotheses incoherent. The inferences drawn from the data are therefore invalidated proximally to any objection empirical replication could counter. We further demonstrate the empirical consequences of these errors in generating artifactual observable effects that have no general significance and impede further progress. We conclude with a basic framework for constructing robust hypotheses in this difficult and important field.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The neural antecedents to voluntary action: A conceptual analysis. |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/17588928.2014.934215 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2014.934215 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2014 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis. This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted. |
| Keywords: | Antecedents to action, Conceptual analysis, Readiness potential. , Voluntary action |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Brain Repair and Rehabilitation |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1434281 |
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