Tuning into the brain: Readiness potentials as instigators of intention reports.
Neuroimage October 15, 2025 Ceci Verbaarschot, Jason Farquhar, Pim Haselager
Neural signals such as the readiness potential (RP) may not be the cause of intention experiences or actions, but instead function as an ingredient and, in some experimental contexts, even a trigger of intention reports. This argument is based on a multi-study analysis of five previously published experiments on neural preparation and subjective experience of intended movement. The results suggest that signals like the RP are among the latest stages of brain processing before movement onset, making them a useful source of information to co-inform or initiate an intention report.