On the functional anatomy of the urge-for-action

Abstract

Several common neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome (TS), autistic spectrum disorder) are associated with unpleasant bodily sensations that are perceived as an urge for action. Similarly, many of our everyday behaviors are also characterized by bodily sensations that we experience as urges for action. Where do these urges originate? In this paper, we consider the nature and the functional anatomy of "urges-for-action," both in the context of everyday behaviors such as yawning, swallowing, and micturition, and in relation to clinical disorders in which the urge-for-action is considered pathological and substantially interferes with activities of daily living (e.g., TS). We review previous frameworks for thinking about behavioral urges and demonstrate that there is considerable overlap between the functional anatomy of urges associated with everyday behaviors such as swallowing, yawning, and micturition, and those urges associated with the generation of tics in TS. Specifically, we show that the limbic sensory and motor regions--insula and mid-cingulate cortex--are common to all of these behaviors, and we argue that this "motivation-for-action" network should be considered distinct from an "intentional action" network, associated with regions of premotor and parietal cortex, which may be responsible for the perception of "willed intention" during the execution of goal-directed actions.Keywords: Urge; Urge-for-action; Habit; Insula; Tourette syndrome; Action.Many of our everyday behaviors are characterized by bodily sensations that we experience either as an urge or a desire for action. For instance, we may experience a sensation that our bladder is full that is accompanied, to a greater or lesser extent, by an urge or desire to urinate (micturate). In extreme cases, this sense of fullness can be quite uncomfortable and the urge to urinate can be hard to suppress. Similarly, we may experience a tickle in our throat that is associated with an urge to cough or to swallow that can also be difficult to suppress voluntarily.However, not all urges for action are necessarily preceded by bodily sensations of which we are aware. For example, we may suddenly experience a strong urge to yawn, or even find ourselves yawning, without being aware of a sensory "trigger" for the action. In this paper, we consider the nature and the functional anatomy of these "urges-for-action," both in the context of everyday behaviors such as yawning, swallowing, and urinating, and in relation to clinical disorders in which the urgefor-action is considered pathological and substantially COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE, 2011, 2 (3-4), Commentaries, and Reply) Correspondence should be addressed to: Stephen R. Jackson, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. E-mail: stephen.jackson@nottingham.ac.uk This research was supported in part by grants from the Medical Research Council (G0901321), and by the WCU (World Class University) program through the National Research Foundatio...

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