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The Readiness Potential Reflects the Reliability of Action Consequence
Wen Wen1,2,3, Rin Minohara4, Shunsuke Hamasaki4
1Department of Precision Engineering, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan. wen@robot.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Scientific Reports
|August 10, 2018
Summary
Reliable action consequences enhance brain activity before voluntary actions. The study found larger readiness potentials (RP) when action-outcome links were constant, indicating enhanced neural preparation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Human Motor Control
- Neurophysiology
Background:
- Humans naturally associate actions with outcomes based on reliable contingency.
- Readiness potential (RP) is a neurophysiological marker preceding voluntary action onset, measurable via electroencephalography (EEG).
- The relationship between action-consequence reliability and RP requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the reliability of action-consequence contingency influences the readiness potential (RP).
- To determine if neural activity preceding voluntary actions reflects the predictability of action outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed voluntary actions in two conditions: constant outcome (action always produced a sound) and inconstant outcome (action produced sound in 50% of trials).
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity, specifically focusing on the readiness potential (RP) preceding voluntary actions.
- Comparison of RP amplitudes between the constant and inconstant outcome conditions.
Main Results:
- Both early and late components of the readiness potential (RP) were significantly larger in the constant outcome condition compared to the inconstant outcome condition.
- The amplitude of the RP was directly correlated with the reliability of the action-consequence contingency.
- These findings suggest that predictable action outcomes lead to enhanced neural preparation.
Conclusions:
- Readiness potentials (RP) preceding voluntary actions are modulated by the reliability of action-consequence contingency.
- Enhanced action-effect contingency strengthens neural activity, reflected in larger RPs.
- This study demonstrates that the brain prepares actions differently based on the predictability of their outcomes.
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