1. Sensorimotor coupling but not visual perspective modulates perceived time during voluntary action
- Author
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Shu Imaizumi, Giuseppe Lai, Anil Seth, and Keisuke Suzuki
- Abstract
Voluntary actions are associated with both a sense of agency of the action, and with distortions of perceived duration. The present study conducted four pre-registered experiments using virtual reality to investigate whether and how perceived duration and sense of agency during voluntary action are modulated by sensorimotor coupling and visual perspective. Participants performed hand movements while observing a virtual hand moving (a)synchronously with their own hand, estimated the duration of the movements, and rated their sense of agency over the movements. Pre-registered analyses revealed that sensorimotor coupling provided by synchronous visual feedback dilates perceived duration, compared to delayed feedback or pre-recorded feedback of other’s movements (sensorimotor decoupling) in Experiments 1 and 2. Visual perspective (Experiments 1 and 2), anatomical configuration (Experiment 3), and visual eccentricity of the virtual hand (Experiment 4) did not influence duration perception. Sense of agency was also modulated by sensorimotor coupling, suggesting that sensorimotor coupling could be a shared foundation for duration perception and sense of agency. Our findings and the virtual-reality technique we developed shed new light on how humans experience time and self-agency during voluntary action.
- Published
- 2023