Motor beta oscillations contribute to the temporal binding effect

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Psychology

Background:

• Agency, the sense of control over actions and outcomes, is linked to temporal binding, the subjective compression of action-effect intervals.
• Previous research connected temporal binding to sensorimotor functions, but the role of neural oscillations was not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between motor-related brain rhythms and temporal binding.
• To determine if trial-by-trial variations in neural oscillations predict the subjective experience of agency and timing.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) was used alongside an automatic imitation task.
• Participants performed finger movements and estimated the time between their action and a subsequent tone.
• Time-frequency analysis and linear mixed-effects modeling were applied to EEG data.

Main Results:

• Reduced beta desynchronization, a marker of motor activity, was found to predict stronger temporal binding.
• This effect was observed independently of whether the action was congruent with the stimulus.
• Neural oscillations, specifically beta rhythms, are implicated in the temporal experience of action-effect coupling.

Conclusions:

• Motor beta oscillations play a significant role in the temporal experience of agency and action-effect coupling.
• These findings suggest that predictive motor processes, reflected in beta oscillations, contribute to the construction of voluntary actions and our sense of control.