Goal-directed acting requires the integration of sensory information but can also be performed without direct sensory input. Examples of this can be found in sports and can be conceptualized by feedforward processes. There is, however, still a lack of understanding of the temporal neural dynamics and neuroanatomical structures involved in such processes. In the current study, we used EEG beamforming methods and examined 37 healthy participants in two well-controlled experiments varying the necessity of anticipatory processes during goal-directed action. We found that alpha and beta activity in the medial and posterior cingulate cortex enabled feedforward predictions about the position of an object based on the latest sensorimotor state. On this basis, theta band activity seems more related to sensorimotor representations, while beta band activity would be more involved in setting up the structure of the neural representations themselves. Alpha band activity in sensory cortices reflects an intensified gating of the anticipated perceptual consequences of the to-be-executed action. Together, the findings indicate that goal-directed acting through the anticipation of the predicted state of an effector is based on accompanying processes in multiple frequency bands in midcingulate and sensory brain regions.
Keywords: EEG; action emulation; goal-directed action; ideomotor theory; medial cingulate cortex; prediction.
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