Action-effect Prediction in Volitional and Stimulus-driven Movement: Investigating Sensory Attenuation and Misprediction Sensitivity.

Abstract

While volitional movement is thought to be initiated based on its anticipated capacity to achieve sensory goals, stimulus-driven movement may be generated with less regard for its specific effects. Sensorimotor processes that make use of action-effect predictions may therefore differ between these forms of movement, including sensory attenuation and the detection of mispredicted motor effects. In this study, we explored sensory attenuation by comparing the evoked response of externally-generated tones with those produced by participants (n = 61), both according to their own timing (i.e., volitionally) and in response to simple visual cues (i.e., stimulus-driven). The influence of stimulus identity prediction (i.e., the predictability of tone frequency) on N1 amplitudes was not found to differ between self- and externally-generated stimuli, or on the basis of volitional control. Reduced P2 amplitudes were observed in response to self-generated tones, which may suggest that these were subject to higher levels of attentional control, including processes involved in the termination of attention. To explore misprediction sensitivity, we compared the influence of stimulus identity prediction on N2b component amplitudes. A significant interaction was found to reflect heightened sensitivity to mispredicted outcomes of volitional action, compared with those of stimulus-driven movement. In light of recent evidence that attentional suppression may attenuate the primary cortical response to outcomes of stimulus-driven movement, we propose that this mechanism might also serve to diminish misprediction sensitivity. As such, these effects may represent important features of sensorimotor processing that assist in differentiating stimuli on the basis of self-generation and intentionality.