theconversation

Another blog post here focused on defining free will using rhetorical theories and the history surrounding the construct, but in recent history there is physical evidence within the human body that deals with this concept; free will. Well to be clear, there are multiple areas of the brain involved with higher order cognition connected to free will. Most significant though is the region known as the ACC (Anterior Cingulate Cortex). The ACC is found in the motor cortex, below the primary motor cortex and above the corpus callosum in the medial portion of the brain. It is composed of two main areas which can be further divided. The dorsal and ventral ACCs (dACC, vACC). The dACC is associated with executive control, learning, adjustment, and self-control. The vACC is associated with emotional expression, mood regulation, and attention allocation. 

Studies have shown that the ACC is involved in mental processes concerning situational behavior, impulse control, empathy, and much more. Some neuroscientists consider it a person’s determiner of morality. Not only for this reason has the ACC been extensively experimented on and observed, though that appears enough of a reason. Neuroscientists have been especially interested in perceptual learning as well as anxiety/mood disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in regards to the ACC as well. Perhaps what most indicates the ACC as a center for human free will though lies in research having to do with other functions of the ACC. Specifically, the ACC is responsible for many decision-making and action planning tasks. Understandably a physiological center for a person’s choices and actions would interest people investigating free will considering free will depends on people being capable of making their own informed decisions. 

Alas, looking at the activity and processes occurring within a person’s ACC proves a nebulous endeavor. While studies have shown that inhibiting activity in the ACC does not mess with certain processes of this area (attention allocation and executive control, for example), other processes are affected. Impulse control and aggression most notably, but also the time in which these decisions are made increases and confidence in decisions decrease as inhibitors like clozapine N-oxide (CNO) take effect on the ACC. Experimentation has observed rats behaving more impulsive and aggressively when their ACC has been damaged or chemically altered. Data shows a correlation between people with violent histories and/or serious mental illness with a less active ACC. Further, another correlation exists between childhood trauma and ACC activity later in life. In other words a person who was abused as a child is more likely to develop a hypo-active ACC which in turn makes them more likely to commit violent crimes/behave in socially unacceptable and even aggressive ways. 

That is quite a heavy discovery and one hell of a domino effect; it might even be said this kind of sequence of events may be out of a person’s control. Specific actions by a person may be attributed to external factors simply from these conclusions. A violent outburst from a child being touched by a sports coach can be attributed to abuse suffered at home, among other examples. This directly disproves the theory of people having free will, so if our civilizations continue to operate under the assumption that free will exists, it’s definition may need to be updated.