Citation

Giovannelli F, Mastrolorenzo B, Rossi A, Gavazzi G, Righi S, Zaccara G, Viggiano MP, Cincotta M. Eur. J. Neurosci. 2016; 44(7): 2455-2459.

Affiliation

SC di Neurologia di Firenze, AUSL Toscana Centro, Florence, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/ejn.13359

PMID

27521184

Abstract

Deficient voluntary control of behaviour and impulsivity are key aspects of impulse control disorders. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between behavioural measures of impulsivity and the awareness of voluntary action. Seventy-four healthy volunteers completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), a questionnaire used to measure impulsive personality traits, and a go/no-go task. Moreover, all participants performed a behavioural task based on the Libet's clock paradigm in which they were requested to report the time of a self-initiated movement (M-judgment) or the time they first feel their intention to move (W-judgment). A positive relationship between the time in which subjects reported the intention to move (W-judgment) and impulsivity measures emerged. Namely, the higher was the score in the attentional and motor impulsivity subscales of the BIS, and the number of inhibitory failure responses in the go/no-go task, the lower was the difference between the W-judgment and the actual movement (i.e. the awareness of intention to move was closer to the voluntary movement execution). In contrast no relationship emerged with M-judgment. Present findings suggest that impulsivity is related to a delayed awareness of voluntary action. We hypothesize that in impulse control disorders the short interval between conscious intention and actual movement may interfere with processes underlying conscious 'veto' of the impending action. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en