Task-based functional connectivity identifies two segregated networks underlying intentional action

How embodied is cognition? fMRI and behavioral evidence for common neural resources underlying motor planning and mental rotation of bodily stimuli

“…The results are FWE-corrected with a threshold of p < 0.05. Modified from Doganci et al. (2023) with permission from Elsevier.…”

“…During fMRI, participants were required to perform simple finger movements, while alternating externally-triggered and participant’s selection of the action, as described in Doganci et al. (2023 ).…”

Causal role of medial superior frontal cortex on enhancing neural information flow and self-agency judgments in the self-agency network

“…Our results are consistent with prior studies that have shown increased neural activity in mPFC, extending to regions such as CG and PCL, in lower frequency alpha and theta bands, which is thought to reflect feedforward models of predictive coding that model the expected sensory outcome of self-generated actions to enable the initiation of self-regulated goal-directed actions (36, 37). This increased neural activity in mPFC, extending to CG and PCL, has been shown to occur consistently prior to self-generated (but not prior to externally-perceived actions), indicating these regions are important for mediating self-predictions that model the expected sensory outcome of self-generated actions, and reflect the volition in motor preparation to translate these self-predictions to initiate self-generated actions that results in the experience of self-agency (2, 9, 24–27, 36).…”

“…We hypothesized that, compared to control rTMS, enhancing medial SFG excitability by rTMS while subjects are at rest would improve the temporal propagation of neural information flow from SFG to anatomically-connected distinct regions (such as the cingulate gyrus and premotor/supplementary motor cortex) within the self-agency network in either delta-theta (2-8 Hz), alpha (8)(9)(10)(11)(12), beta (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), or gamma (30-50 Hz) frequency bands. For example, we know that during the default mode, when participants are at rest and left to think to themselves, the lower frequency band oscillations such as delta-theta and alpha bands, which represent an idling rhythm, are dominant in medial frontal and adjacent cingulate cortex during rest across both MEG and EEG recordings, and functionally overlap with resting-state networks found in fMRI studies (18)(19)(20)(21).…”

“…We also know rTMS propagates trans-synaptically, and that SFG has direct connections with the cingulate gyrus (CG) and premotor/supplementary motor cortex (i.e., the paracentral lobule, PCL) in the self-agency network (22,23). Further, convergent functional imaging studies across fMRI, PET and EEG studies, have shown increased neural activity in CG and PCL, immediately prior to subjects engaging in selfgenerated actions, compared to externally-triggered actions, which is thought to reflect subjects' internal thoughts and the volition in motor preparation to translate these thoughts to initiate self-generated actions that results in the experience of self-agency (2,9,24,25). This neural activity increase in PCL is thought to mediate self-predictions in 'selfgenerated forward models' (also known as efference copies of the motor command sent to sensory cortices) that model the expected sensory outcome of self-generated actions, that lead to the experience of self-agency (26)(27)(28).…”