The brain formulates hypotheses and prefigures consequences of actions. In its long adaptive challenge, the human brain has not only tuned its systems for a quick remodelling of actions but has also shaped the entire musculoskeletal architecture, redefining its internal models of the body. So far, prevailing theories have shown that movement is first prefigured (premotor cortex) and then implemented (motor cortex), but what happens prior to motor improvisation, which allows us to make choices and predictions on the basis of partial information? So far, little importance has been given to the enormous variety of subcortical activities, in particular those of the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component produces, by means of implicit procedures, continuous novelties that enable the prefrontal cortex to transform huge amounts of information into creative behaviours. In this regard, the basal ganglia interact with the frontal cortex and the limbic system, exercising a key function in planning, selecting appropriate actions, and in motor decision making processes. The purpose of this paper is to clarify how improvisation is connected to executive control and to the integrated activity of cortical/subcortical areas underlying the flow of ideas and expressive spontaneity, thus enquiring into how our brain is not only a complex reactive system but also a predictive system.

Improvisation in Action. A Neurophenomenological Perspective / Maldonato, Nelson Mauro; Muzii, Benedetta. - In: JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES. - ISSN 1355-8250. - 27:3-4(2020), pp. 104-127.

Improvisation in Action. A Neurophenomenological Perspective

NELSON MAURO MALDONATO
;
BENEDETTA MUZII
2020

Abstract

The brain formulates hypotheses and prefigures consequences of actions. In its long adaptive challenge, the human brain has not only tuned its systems for a quick remodelling of actions but has also shaped the entire musculoskeletal architecture, redefining its internal models of the body. So far, prevailing theories have shown that movement is first prefigured (premotor cortex) and then implemented (motor cortex), but what happens prior to motor improvisation, which allows us to make choices and predictions on the basis of partial information? So far, little importance has been given to the enormous variety of subcortical activities, in particular those of the basal ganglia. This fundamental subcortical component produces, by means of implicit procedures, continuous novelties that enable the prefrontal cortex to transform huge amounts of information into creative behaviours. In this regard, the basal ganglia interact with the frontal cortex and the limbic system, exercising a key function in planning, selecting appropriate actions, and in motor decision making processes. The purpose of this paper is to clarify how improvisation is connected to executive control and to the integrated activity of cortical/subcortical areas underlying the flow of ideas and expressive spontaneity, thus enquiring into how our brain is not only a complex reactive system but also a predictive system.
2020
Improvisation in Action. A Neurophenomenological Perspective / Maldonato, Nelson Mauro; Muzii, Benedetta. - In: JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES. - ISSN 1355-8250. - 27:3-4(2020), pp. 104-127.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/806453
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 2
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 1
social impact