<p>Abulia has been <a href="https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/79/10/1088" rel="nofollow noreferrer">defined</a> as:
&quot;(1) difficulty to initiate and sustain purposeful movements;
(2) poverty of spontaneous movements;
(3) reduced spontaneous speech;
(4) increased response time to queries;
(5) passivity;
(6) reduced emotional responsiveness and spontaneity;
(7) reduced social interaction; and
(8) reduced interest in usual pastimes.&quot;</p>
<p>Avolition has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28127915/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">defined</a> as, &quot;reduced initiation and persistence of goal directed activity&quot;.</p>
<p>There is considerable overlap between the two concepts, as well as the related concept of apathy. The pathological basis probably involves the same neural circuits. As I noted in a previous post that was deleted, there is considerable disagreement among experts as to what many of these terms mean. If you're interested, see this <a href="https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/mds.10194" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paper</a> from only 22 years ago attempting to find consensus on the term abulia.</p>

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2024-01-07T22:12:20.517Z
2024-01-07T22:12:20.517Z
Malcolm Forbes
<p>The Wikipedia articles are confusing especially the first one <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abulia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abulia</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolition" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolition</a></p>
<p>If you google &quot;abulia avolition&quot; the first entry (&quot;Verywell Health&quot;) says &quot;Aboulia is the lack of will rather than motivation&quot; which contradicts wiki's article that puts abulia under &quot;Disorders of Diminished Motivation&quot; umbrella. This Verywell Health's author is not even a psychiatrist but a patient lol.</p>

<terminology><psychiatry>
What is the difference between "avolition" and "abulia"
Hey
# What is the difference between "avolition" and "abulia"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-11-27)

The Wikipedia articles are confusing especially the first one <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abulia> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolition>

If you google "abulia avolition" the first entry ("Verywell Health") says "Aboulia is the lack of will rather than motivation" which contradicts wiki's article that puts abulia under "Disorders of Diminished Motivation" umbrella. This Verywell Health's author is not even a psychiatrist but a patient lol.

**Tags:** terminology, psychiatry


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-01-07. Score: 0

Abulia has been [defined](https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/79/10/1088) as:
"(1) difficulty to initiate and sustain purposeful movements;
(2) poverty of spontaneous movements;
(3) reduced spontaneous speech;
(4) increased response time to queries;
(5) passivity;
(6) reduced emotional responsiveness and spontaneity;
(7) reduced social interaction; and
(8) reduced interest in usual pastimes."

Avolition has been [defined](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28127915/) as, "reduced initiation and persistence of goal directed activity".

There is considerable overlap between the two concepts, as well as the related concept of apathy. The pathological basis probably involves the same neural circuits. As I noted in a previous post that was deleted, there is considerable disagreement among experts as to what many of these terms mean. If you're interested, see this [paper](https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/mds.10194) from only 22 years ago attempting to find consensus on the term abulia.


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