Sense of agency for movements

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• Sense of agency (SoA) is crucial for self-awareness and action control.
• The comparator model is a prominent theory explaining SoA, particularly concerning movement execution.
• Existing research often conflates different aspects of SoA, potentially limiting theoretical development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the adequacy of the comparator model for explaining sense of agency (SoA).
• To differentiate between narrow SoA (movement-related) and broad SoA (environment-related) and their theoretical implications.
• To present experimental evidence challenging the comparator model's account of narrow SoA.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis distinguishing narrow and broad SoA.
• Review of experimental paradigms used in SoA research.
• Presentation of two novel experiments designed to induce illusory narrow SoA.

Main Results:

• Most SoA studies fail to distinguish between narrow and broad SoA.
• The comparator model primarily explains narrow SoA, but a simpler motor signal model suffices.
• Experimental attempts to induce illusory narrow SoA in healthy participants were unsuccessful.

Conclusions:

• The comparator model is insufficient for a comprehensive understanding of SoA.
• A distinction between narrow and broad SoA is critical for future research.
• Experimental findings cast doubt on the validity of the comparator model for narrow SoA.