giuseppe sartori

Neuropsychology of Free Will

Giuseppe Sartori Università di Padova

With

Francesca Gnoato – Padova

Francesco Tomaiuolo – VolterraMario De Caro – Roma

Massimo Marraffa ‐ Roma

mercoledì 9 maggio 2012

Model building and neuropsychology

• From breakdown of cogniHon to cogniHve organisaHon

• PaHents with neuropsychological syndromes are used to model cogniHon


Sense of Agency – Sense of Ownership

• SoA ‐ Sense of Agency ‐ I am the iniHator of my act

• SoO – Sense of Ownership – My arm belongs to me

• IntenHonal acHon – acHon with a clear purpose rather than with a random behaviour (e.g. ballism)


Syndromes with impaired awareness of body

• Somatoparaphrenia: impaired sense of ownership, loss of

recogniHon of a limb, damage to right hemisphere

• Alien hand: with closed eyes, they can not recognize theirs own hand o finger grabbed by the other hand. Damage to the corpus callosum

• Autotopoagnosia: the paHents are unable to localize body part of themselves. Damage to leS parietal lobe.

• Hemiasomatognosia: neglect of the contralesional hemisoma,

damage to right hemisphere.

• Digital agnosia: impaired idenHficaHon and denominaHon of fingers.

Damage to right parietal lobe.


Syndromes with impaired awareness of disability

• Anosognosia: the paHents are unaware of the existence of his or her disability


Major syndromes of intenHonal acHon

• Anarchic hand syndrome: impaired control of the

movements of one hand, that has the capability of acHng autonomously and it is indipendent of their voluntary control. The anarchic hand interferes with the acHviHes of the other hand. Damage to the Corpus Callosum.

• Apraxia: difficulty with acHons requiring planning. AutomaHc ‐

voluntary dissociaHon. Damage to leS hemisphere.


Anarchic Hand


Anarchic Hand

• Usually short‐living syndrome

• Usually lesion to the corpus callosum even if other lesion sites have been reported.


Case study

• Female 68

• Pharmacist

• Ischemia in the territoty of the AcA


Anarchich Hand

‐ 10 days post‐onset CT scan


Anarchic Hand

CT scan obtained 6 months aSer stroke, confirmed the callosal damage and the lesions of most of the superior frontal gyrus and part of the underlying cigulate cortex of the right hemisphere.


Anarchic hand


QualitaHve clinical features

• SoO – always present

• Bimanual tasks – in dressing the anarchic hand is collaboraHve

• TacHle sensiHvity and pain in the anarchich hand – present

• PropriocepHon – present

• Examples of anarchic behaviours: when eaHng takes the bread, strangling, etc.


Anarchic hand shows dissociaHons

• Between SoA (absent) and SoO (present)

• Between intenHonal, purposeful and behaviour (present) and voliHon (absent)

• Unwanted behaviour is usually naughty rather than neutral


Theory of voliHon

• Naive theory of voliHon claims that SoA, SoO and purposeful behaviour are a unique cogniHve condiHon

• Neuropsychology of anarchic hand shows that SoA may be dissociated from SoO in a purposeful unwanted motor acHon


giuseppe sartori

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