Motor-based and memory-based predictions distinctively modulate sensory processes

Abstract

Action suppresses the neural responses to its sensory feedback. The phenomenon, termed action-induced suppression, highlights the predictive processes in sensorimotor integration but remains controversial regarding the underlying mechanisms. The predictive coding framework posits that action-induced suppression is a general, non-action-specific process driven by predictions. In contrast, the Dual-Stream Prediction Model (DSPM) argues that motor-based and memory-based predictions are mediated by distinct processes — motor predictions rely on precise action-perception mappings and temporal synchrony, whereas memory predictions are based on learned associations. To test these competing theories, we compared auditory ERP responses elicited by self-initiated keypresses (motor-based) and visually cued auditory events (memory-based) in a matching judgment task. Results revealed significant suppression at the P2 component, when the prediction matched the auditory feedback only in the motor-auditory task but not in the visual-auditory task. The findings qualitatively replicated common observations of action-induced suppression; the suppression effects are at a later component rather than N1, indicating the interaction between prediction and perception at a higher level, such as syllable categorization in the current experimental design. Surprisingly, we observed N1 enhancement to the auditory probe in both conditions, with greater enhancement in the motor-auditory task compared to the visual-auditory task. The enhancement effects likely reflect a prediction-induced attentional-like modulation at an early auditory processing stage, potentially driven by the demands of the matching judgment task. Together, these findings support the DSPM by demonstrating functional dissociable mechanisms of motor-based and memory-based predictions.