Implicit agency is related to gamma power changes in an automatic imitation task

ABSTRACT Often we have a feeling that we can control effects in the external world through our actions. The role of action processing associated with this implicit form of agency is still not clear. In this study, we used automatic imitation and electroencephalography to investigate neural oscillations associated with action processing and its possible contribution to implicit agency. Brain activity was recorded while participants performed actions (congruent or incongruent with a displayed finger movement) which subsequently triggered an outcome (a tone). We used a time estimation task to measure intentional binding (an index of implicit agency). We observed a decrease of alpha, beta and gamma power for congruent compared to incongruent actions and increased theta power for incongruent compared to congruent actions. Crucially, participants who showed greater intentional binding for congruent versus incongruent actions also presented greater gamma power differences. Alpha, beta and theta power were modulated by congruency but were unrelated to intentional binding. Our study suggests that an increased implicit agency for facilitated actions is associated with changes in gamma power. Our study also contributes to a characterization of neural oscillations in automatic imitation.