volitusel

Volitusel is a fictional biochemical compound introduced in speculative neuroscience and science fiction to explore the connection between conscious intention and motor execution. In the fictional model, volitusel acts as a fast-acting signaling molecule released within the motor planning network when a voluntary decision is registered, enhancing the excitability of corticospinal circuits and reducing the threshold for movement initiation. The name combines volitus, from Latin volitus meaning will, with a suffix common to signaling molecules.

According to the narrative, volitusel is synthesized in the basal ganglia by an imagined enzyme called volitinase and transported in vesicles to synapses in the primary motor cortex, where it modulates receptor activity and timing of motor commands. The concept is typically presented as a hypothetical bridge between intention and action, rather than a demonstrable neurochemical pathway.

In real-world science, volitusel has no empirical basis and is not recognized as a physiological molecule. It functions as a thought-experiment device used to discuss issues in neuroethics and philosophy of action, such as whether volitional states can causally determine movement or whether neural preparation precedes conscious will. Critics point out that it risks conflating subjective experience with neural processes and that it remains untestable given current methods.

Volitusel has appeared in science fiction and educational discussions as a heuristic tool for illustrating debates about free will, agency, and the neural correlates of decision-making.