Modulation of fronto-parietal connections during the rubber hand illusion

Anke Ninija Karabanov, Anina Ritterband-Rosenbaum, Mark Schram Christensen, Hartwig Roman Siebner, Jens Bo Nielsen

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that parieto-frontal connections play a role in adjusting body ownership during the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI). Using a motor version of the rubber hand illusion paradigm, we applied single-site and dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate cortico-spinal and parietal-frontal connectivity during perceived rubber hand ownership. Healthy volunteers received a conditioning TMS pulse over left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) and a test TMS pulse over left primary motor cortex (M1). Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) were recorded at rest and during three RHI conditions: a) agency and ownership, b) agency but no ownership and c) neither agency nor ownership. Parietal-motor communication differed among experimental conditions. The induction of action ownership was associated with an inhibitory parietal-to-motor connectivity, which was comparable to the aIPS-to-M1 inhibition present at rest. This aIPS-to-M1 inhibition disappeared during movement conditions not inducing ownership. Cortico-spinal excitability was not significantly modulated during the motor RHI as indicated by the task-constant MEP amplitude elicited by the M1 test pulse alone. Our results indicate that the perceived ownership over the rubber hand is associated with normal parietal-motor communication. This communication is disturbed if the sensorimotor conflict between one's own hand and the rubber hand is not resolved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Neuroscience
Volume45
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)964-974
ISSN0953-816X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2017

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