Interdisciplinary studies of decision-making and motor planning

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How does the brain make decisions about actions? Classical theories suggest that we first process sensory information to build an internal representation of the world, then decide on what to do, and finally plan and execute the selected action. However, recent neural and behavioral data suggest a different hypothesis. They suggest that as we look at the world, parts of our brain automatically process the sensory information to specify, in parallel, several actions that are currently possible. Neural representations of these actions then compete against each other until a winner emerges and is executed. This competition is biased by information from higher cognitive regions, but it takes place within the sensorimotor system itself. In other words, behavior is a constant battle between the demands and opportunities for action which the world presents to us.