Sensory prediction mechanisms in action

When we produce an action we generate predictions about the sensory consequences that are likely to ensue. This thesis tests a series of claims about the functional contribution these predictions make to perception, the role that such predictions play in processing the reactions of others, and the range of sensory inputs that these prediction mechanisms operate over. Chapter 1 outlines the theoretical background to each of these claims, alongside the previous literature that motivates subsequent experiments. The first three empirical chapters focus on claims about the functional role of sensory predictions during action: that they act to ‘cancel’ perception of expected action outcomes. Chapter 2 investigates this hypothesis in the context an intensity judgement task, Chapter 3 tests the hypothesis in the context of a signal detection task and Chapter 4 assess how predictions generated during action influence multivariate measures of visual brain activity, recorded via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Chapter 5 investigates the claim that sensory predictions during action support the processing of imitative reactions in others. Two psychophysical experiments are reported which investigate whether sensory predictions generated during action have temporal properties needed to support processing of others’ reactions. Chapter 6 investigates whether sensory predictions generated during action influence the ‘when’ - as well as the ‘what’ - of perception. Four psychophysical experiments investigate whether the temporal features of executed actions are incorporated into duration perception. Chapters 7 and 8 report preliminary investigations into the mechanism underlying these effects. Chapter 7 assesses whether these influences arise through a mechanism that is primarily tuned to biological action outcomes. Chapter 8 investigates whether these effects arise as a result of statistical learning about the relationship between actions and outcomes. Chapter 9 summarises the studies presented in the thesis, and outlines their implications for thinking about sensory prediction during action