Decoding agency attribution using single trial error‐related brain potentials

• Published in: Psychophysiology 2024-01, Vol.61 (1), p.e14434-n/a
• Main Authors: Gomez‐Andres, Alba, Cerda‐Company, Xim, Cucurell, David, Cunillera, Toni, Rodríguez‐Fornells, Antoni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain; Computer applications; decoding; EEG; ERPs; error‐related potentials; Implants; Latency; sense of agency; support vector machine
• ISSN: 0048-5772; 1469-8986; 1540-5958
• DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14434

Being able to distinguish between self and externally generated actions is a key factor influencing learning and adaptive behavior. Previous literature has highlighted that whenever a person makes or perceives an error, a series of error‐related potentials (ErrPs) can be detected in the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, such as the error‐related negativity (ERN) component. Recently, ErrPs have gained a lot of interest for the use in brain–computer interface (BCI) applications, which give the user the ability to communicate by means of decoding his/her brain activity. Here, we explored the feasibility of employing a support vector machine classifier to accurately disentangle self‐agency errors from other‐agency errors from the EEG signal at a single‐trial level in a sample of 23 participants. Our results confirmed the viability of correctly disentangling self/internal versus other/external agency‐error attributions at different stages of brain processing based on the latency and the spatial topographical distribution of key ErrP features, namely, the ERN and P600 components, respectively. These results offer a new perspective on how to distinguish self versus externally generated errors providing new potential implementations on BCI systems. The process of attributing errors to either oneself or external factors can be decoded on a trial‐by‐trial basis by analyzing error‐related brain potentials by means of the timing and spatial distribution of the error‐related negativity and P600 components. The distinction between internal and external agency‐error attributions holds promise for introducing novel methods for integrating adaptive and corrective functionalities within brain–computer interface systems.