title: Different brain structures related to self- and external-agency attribution: a brief review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Several neuroimaging studies have consistently shown activations of areas surrounding the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) during tasks exploring the sense of agency. Beyond TPJ, activations in different structures, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dLPFC), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the insula and the precuneus have been reported. Moreover, a possible dissociation between self- and external-agency attribution has been suggested. To test the hypothesis of distinct neural correlates for self- and external-agency attribution a quantitative meta-analysis, based on activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method, across 15 PET and fMRI studies (228 subjects) was conducted. Results show converging activations including the TPJ, pre-SMA, precuneus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) in external-agency, while insula activation was related to self-agency. We discuss these findings, highlighting the role of the insula, and calling for the use of alternative paradigms such as intentional binding and interactive imitation to study agency.
authors.affiliation: Centre Emotion, CNRS 3246, Pavillon Clérambault, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 47 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75651 Paris, Cedex 13, France. marcosperduti@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sperduti
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delaveau
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: Jaqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nadel
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography