Inferior parietal lobule involved in representation of “what” in a delayed-action Libet task

•We compared free action selection with instructed action in a Libet clock W task.•High-density EEG and topographic ANOVA provides temporal and spatial sensitivity.•Instructed action is marked by stronger activation of regions adjacent to IPS.•Action representation in delayed-action tasks is likely backed by IPL. Intentional motor action is typically characterized by the decision about the timing, and the selection of the action variant, known as the “what” component. We compared free action selection with instructed action, where the movement type was externally cued, in order to investigate the action selection and action representation in a Libet’s task. Temporal and spatial locus of these processes was examined using the combination of high-density electroencephalography, topographic analysis of variance, and source reconstruction. Instructed action, engaging representation of the response movement, was associated with distinct negativity at the parietal and centro-parietal channels starting around 750 ms before the movement, which has a source particularly in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule. This suggests that in delayed-action tasks, the process of action representation in the inferior parietal lobule may play an important part in the larger parieto-frontal activity responsible for movement selection.