Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 13;9(1):1995. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37912-w.
Controlling an event through one's own action usually induces a sense of agency, a feeling that arises when an expected outcome matches the intention. The neural correlates of this feeling remain controversial however, as experimental manipulation of the action-outcome chain often introduces mismatch or prediction errors that strongly correlate with the sense of agency. Here, we took a different approach and manipulated the causal belief (self-attribution vs. computer-attribution) by external cues during matched visuo-motor tapping conditions. With magneto-encephalography, we studied the sense of agency from a network perspective, investigating in source space the modulation of local population activity and changes in functional connectivity with motor cortex. Our results show that during the belief of agency primary motor cortex (M1) shows stronger functional connectivity (mediated by the beta band) to inferior parietal lobe and right middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Furthermore, the local feed-forward activity (gamma band power) in extrastriate body area and MTG disappears with that belief. After changes in action context, left M1 shows stronger connectivity in the alpha band with right premotor cortex and left insular-temporal cortex a network that might support active inference in social action context. Finally, a better tapping performance in this rhythmic task was related to alpha power modulations in the bilateral cerebellum and bilateral fusiform body-area, with power suppression during a more precise performance. These findings highlight the role of multiple networks supporting the sense of agency by changing their relative contribution for different causal beliefs.
通过自身行动控制事件通常会引起主体感，即当预期结果与意图相匹配时产生的一种感觉。然而，这种感觉的神经相关性仍存在争议，因为对动作-结果链的实验操纵通常会引入不匹配或预测错误，这些错误与主体感强烈相关。在这里，我们采取了不同的方法，通过外部线索在匹配的视觉运动敲击条件下操纵因果信念（自我归因与计算机归因）。我们使用脑磁图从网络角度研究了主体感，在源空间中研究了局部群体活动的调制以及与运动皮层的功能连接变化。我们的结果表明，在主体感的信念期间，初级运动皮层（M1）与顶下小叶和右侧颞中回（MTG）之间显示出更强的功能连接（由β频带介导）。此外，在这种信念下，外纹状体身体区域和 MTG 的局部前馈活动（γ频带功率）消失。在动作背景变化后，左侧 M1 在α频带与右侧前运动皮层和左侧岛颞皮质之间显示出更强的连接，该网络可能支持社会动作背景下的主动推断。最后，在这个节奏任务中，更好的敲击表现与双侧小脑和双侧梭状回身体区域的α功率调制有关，在更精确的表现时功率抑制。这些发现强调了多个网络通过改变其对不同因果信念的相对贡献来支持主体感的作用。
