Abstract

We select our actions according to the desired outcomes; for instance, piano players press certain keys to generate specific musical notes. It is well-described that the omission of a predicted action-effect may elicit prediction error signals in the brain, but what happens in the case of simultaneous effector-specific (by contrast to effector-unspecific) predictions? To answer this question, we asked participants to press left and right keys to generate tones A and B; based on the action-effect association, the tones' identity was either predictable or unpredictable, while rarely, the expected input was omitted. Crucially, the data show that omissions following hand-specific associations reliably elicited a late omission N1 (oN1) component, by contrast to the hand-unspecific associations, where the late oN1 was rather weak. An additional condition where both key-presses generated a unique tone was implemented. Here, rare omissions of the expected tone generated both early and late oN1 responses, by contrast to the condition in which two simultaneous action-effect representations had to be maintained, where only late oN1 responses were elicited. Finally, omission P3 (oP3) responses were strongly elicited for all omission types without differences, indicating that a general expectation based on a tone presentation (rather than which tone), is likely indexed at this stage. The present results emphasize the top-down effects of action intention on the sensory processing of omissions, where unspecific (vs. specific) and multiple (vs. single) action-effect representations are associated with processing costs at the early sensory levels.

Highlights

  • When acting, we know about the specific consequences of particular actions—for instance, professional pianists know which piano key to press, with which hand and specific finger, in order to produce unique tones

  • It is welldescribed that the omission of a predicted action-effect may elicit prediction error signals in the brain (Dercksen et al, 2020; SanMiguel, Saupe, et al, 2013; SanMiguel, Widmann, et al, 2013); our ability to represent simultaneous predictions, in particular, effector-specific vs. unspecific action-effect predictions represented on a trial-by-trial basis, has been barely explored

  • We aimed to answer two main questions: first, do hand-specific vs. hand-unspecific key–tone associations and second, does maintaining of one vs. two sound representations involve any processing costs/benefits modulating the sensory processing of omissions? The results indicate that unpredictable hand-unspecific associations involve some costs reflected in the omission N1 (oN1) response; the oN1 processing level reflects costs associated with representing two sounds

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Summary

Introduction

We know about the specific consequences of particular actions—for instance, professional pianists know which piano key to press, with which hand and specific finger, in order to produce unique tones. It was found that self-generated tones which were congruent (by contrast to incongruent) with previously learnt associations for the left and right hands, lead to attenuation of the N1 (Hughes, Desantis, & Waszak, 2013b) and P3a ERP responses (Waszak & Herwig, 2007) These results point to a mechanism based on identity-specific action-effect predictions, rather than based on the mere coupling of tones with motor acts, as often postulated by the forward models of action control and action-related predictions (Knolle, Schröger, Baess, & Kotz, 2012; Martikainen, Kaneko, & Hari, 2005; Miall & Wolpert, 1996). Results of a recent study indicate that mismatching the action intention-based predictions elicit MMN and P3a responses, even when two tones that are inversely associated with left and right-hand key-presses are overall presented with equal chances. (Korka, Schröger, & Widmann, 2019)

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