Decision-Making Emerges from Sensorimotor Loops, Not a Central Brain Center

A new study argues there is no discrete neural 'decision center' in the brain; instead, intentional-looking behavior arises from the simultaneous interaction of sensory, sensorimotor, and motor processes, challenging the linear 'sandwich' model and the Cartesian Theater. The paper uses analogies to nonphysical decisions and a simple wall-following robot to illustrate how decisions can appear purposeful without a central controller, and calls for embodied, ecological approaches to studying decision-making.