Role of error monitoring mechanisms in attribution of sense of self-agency

Abstract

Sense of agency refers to the sense of authorship of a given action. While the phenomenon seems too obvious to demand further investigation, pathological conditions such as delusions of control suggest the requirement of further investigation into the phenomenon of sense of agency. The traditional view point regarding the role of intention in sense of agency is complemented by computational models of motor control. Accordingly, we hypothesized and tested the role of error monitoring mechanisms in the sense of agency by manipulating the feedback given independent of the responses of the participant while performing a Flanker task. The results point out the potential role of error monitoring mechanisms by modulating the forward model predictions to experience a sense of agency for unintended actions.