Observation of factors associated with visceral swallowing pattern in 2-6 year old children: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The association between the visceral swallowing pattern (VSP) and dentofacial abnormalities remains controversial. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between the VSP and various factors including type of birth, gender, tongue posture, lip incompetence, eruption of primary molars, habits and the presence of malocclusions in children with primary and early mixed dentition. Material and method: A total of 219 children (102 boys and 117 girls) were evaluated using a combination of a questionnaire and a structured clinical examination by one pediatric specialist dentist. Kittel's method of tongue posture evaluation and the Payne technique for assessment of swallowing pattern were included in the clinical examination of myofunctional status. After checking for normality, normal and non-normal distributed data were analyzed using two-sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test, respectively. Analysis of categorical variables was done using a chi-square test, and Bonferroni correction was used as correction for multiple comparisons. Results: A total of 56.2 % of the study population had a VSP. The chi-square test indicated a statistically significant higher presence of VSP in male gender. Statistically significant associations were seen between the VSP and lip incompetency, pathologic resting tongue position, habits, anterior open bite and increased overjet. On the other hand, no statistically significant associations were found between VSP and children's age within the sample population, type of birth, uni- or bilateral crossbites, increased overbite, edge-to-edge anterior bite or completion of eruption of primary molars and/or permanent incisors. Conclusions: The association between VSP and male gender, pathologic tongue posture, lip incompetency and habits and occlusal traits such as anterior open bite and increased anterior overjet is supported by the results of the present study.

Preschool children's discourse competence in different genres and how it relates to iconic gestures.

Based on the linguistic analysis of game explanations and retellings, the paper's goal is to investigate the relation of preschool children's situated discourse competence and iconic gestures in different communicative genres, focussing on reinforcing and supplementary speech-gesture-combinations. To this end, a method was developed to evaluate discourse competence as a context-sensitive and interactively embedded phenomenon. The so-called GLOBE-model was adapted to assess discourse competence in relation to interactive scaffolding. The findings show clear links between the children's competence and their parents' scaffolding. We suggest this to be evidence of a fine-tuned interactive support system. The results also indicate strong relations between higher discourse competence and increased frequency of iconic gestures. This applies in particular to reinforcing gestures. The results are interpreted as a confirmation that the speech-gesture system undergoes systematic changes during early childhood, and that gesturing becomes more iconic - and thus more communicative - when discourse competence is growing.

Influence of fixed orthodontic steel retainers on gingival health and recessions of mandibular anterior teeth in an intact periodontium - a randomized, clinical controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Aim of this randomized clinical controlled trial was to evaluate the influence of fixed orthodontic steel retainers on gingival health and recessions of mandibular anterior teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After end of the orthodontic treatment, patients were randomly assigned into the test (fixed steel retainer) or control group (modified removable vacuum-formed retainer). Periodontal parameters (periodontal probing depth: PPD; recession: REC; bleeding on probing: BOP) as well as plaque and gingival index were assessed on mandibular anterior teeth directly before attaching/handing over the retainer (baseline: BL), 6 and 12 months after orthodontic treatment. RESULTS: 37 patients (test: n = 15, mean age: 16.1±4.2 years; control: n = 17, mean age: 17.1±5.4 years) completed the study. REC and PPD failed to show significant pairwise differences. The number of patients showing gingival health in the area of the mandibular anterior teeth (test: BL n = 10, 6 months n = 9, 12 months n = 11; control: BL n = 10, 6 months n = 16, 12 months n = 15) revealed a significant difference for the intra-group comparison between BL and 6 months in the control group (p = 0.043). The inter-group comparisons failed to show significant differences. CONCLUSION: Young orthodontically treated patients with fixed steel retainers show in 73.3% healthy gingival conditions after one year which are comparable to the control group (88.2%). Gingival recessions were in a clinically non-relevant range at any time of the examination. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: DRKS00016710.

Alterations in the surface roughness and porosity parameters of directly printed and Invisalign aligners after 1 week of intraoral usage: An in vivo prospective investigation.

INTRODUCTION: Direct printing of clear aligners could be the next paradigm shift in modern orthodontics and can potentially overcome the limitation of the indirect production method. This study investigated the effects of 1 week of intraoral usage on the surface roughness parameters of directly printed aligners (DPAs) and commercially produced Invisalign aligners compared with their unused control counterparts using confocal laser scanning microscopy. METHODS: The study consisted of 4 groups with 34 samples per group. Unused control aligners were allocated to the control groups (DP-Ctr and INV-Ctr). Sixty-eight patients undergoing clear aligner therapy were allocated to group DP-Clin (patients in therapy using DPAs made from TC-85 DAC resin) and group INV-Clin (patients provided with Invisalign aligners). After 1 week of intraoral usage, the aligners were retrieved from the patients in groups DP-Clin and INV-Clin. Samples were made from the buccal surface of the maxillary right central incisor of each aligner and underwent surface roughness and porosity measuring using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The arithmetic mean deviation of the profile, root mean square deviation, maximum peak height, maximum valley depth, maximum height difference among the highest peak and deepest valley, void volume, and void count were measured. Descriptive analysis and median (quantile) regression models were used for data analysis of this experiment. RESULTS: One week of intraoral usage significantly increased the surface roughness and porosity of DPAs. In contrast, a significant reduction in the surface roughness and porosity parameters of Invisalign aligners was recorded after intraoral service. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests an increase in the surface roughness and surface porosity of DPAs following 1 week of intraoral usage, which might lead to an increase in bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation in these aligners.

Effects of intraoral aging on mechanical properties of directly printed aligners vs. thermoformed aligners: an in vivo prospective investigation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of intraoral aging on the mechanical properties of directly printed aligners (DPA) compared to thermoformed aligners (TA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective in vivo experiment included three types of aligners: DPAs (group DP) fabricated from Tera Harz TC-85 DAC resin (Graphy, Korea), TA (group INV) made from a polyurethane-based polymer (Align Technology, Inc., CA, USA), and TA (group DUR) made from polyethylene glycol terephthalate based polymer (Scheu-Dental, Germany). Each group was categorized into retrieved (Clin) and unused aligners (Ctr). Thirty patients (10 per group) wore the aligners for 7 days, thereby generating the retrieved samples. Thirty unused aligners were employed as control samples. The following mechanical properties were determined: Martens Hardness (HM), indentation modulus (EIT), elastic index (ηIT), and indentation relaxation (RIT). Intergroup comparisons were conducted using ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis test. Comparisons between retrieved and control samples were done using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney-U/Student's t-test/Welch's test. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences between the groups were found for both control and used samples (P < .001). Pairwise comparisons also revealed significant differences between the samples. The mechanical properties did not differ significantly between unused and retrieved INV- and DUR-aligners, whereas for DP-aligners significant differences for ηIT and RIT were found following intraoral service (P-values .012 and .002, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Group DUR showed generally more favorable mechanical properties compared to DP and INV. The much higher RIT and EIT in DP aligners suggest their higher rigidity and force decay, which could compromise their clinical efficacy.

Posttreatment stability following therapy using passive self-ligating brackets: extraction vs. nonextraction.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of lower premolar extraction on posttreatment stability one year following fixed orthodontic treatment with passive self-ligating brackets (Damon system, Ormco, Orange, CA, USA). METHODS: All patients were treated with fixed orthodontic appliances using passive self-ligating brackets (Damon). For retention, removable Hawley retainers were used. Two groups of patients were included in the study. Each group consisted of 23 patients: group Ex consisted of 10 male and 13 female patients (13.4 ± 1.6 years old) with extraction of lower first premolars and group NonEx consisted of 11 male and 12 female patients (13.4 ± 3.9 years old) without dental extractions. The patients' dental models and photographs were assessed at T0 (pretreatment), T1 (the end of active orthodontic treatment: 3.3 ± 1.0 years in the Ex and 2.3 ± 0.8 years in the NonEx group) and at T2 (1 year posttreatment). All lower casts were scanned and the following dental parameters were recorded and compared between the two groups: intercanine width (ICW), anterior arch width (AAW), intermolar width (IMW), Little's irregularity index (LII) and gingival recessions. RESULTS: An increase in ICW (group Ex: 1.20 ± 2.51 mm and group NonEx: 0.84 ± 1.48 mm) by the end of active treatment (T1; P < 0.05), as well as a relapse regarding the ICW (group Ex: -0.1 ± 0.47 mm and group NonEx: -67% ± 0.38 mm) one year post-treatment (T2) were recorded in the samples. Relapse in the non-extraction group was statistically and clinically significant, whereas ICW values remained relatively stable in the extraction group during the posttreatment period (T1-T2). The irregularity index decreased during treatment (group Ex: -8.79 ± 6.36 mm and group NonEx: -5.24 ± 2.99 mm) and relapsed in both groups (group Ex: 0.57 ± 90 mm and group NonEx: 0.27 ± 0.53). The rate of relapse in LII was correlated to the relapse rate of ICW. A reduction of IMW was recorded in the Ex group (-1.89 ± 1.82 mm) during active treatment (P < 0.05), which remained stable 1 year posttreatment. AAW increased in both groups (group Ex: 2.77 ± 1.77 mm and group NonEx: 1.77 ± 2.04 mm) throughout active treatment and remained stable at T2. CONCLUSION: Intergroup comparison revealed that ICW remained stable 1 year posttreatment in the Ex group, whereas high relapse of ICW was recorded in the NonEx group. Furthermore, risk of a relapse of LII appears to be higher in cases with a relapse of the ICW.

Intertwining the social and the cognitive loops: socially enactive cognition for human-compatible interactive systems.

It is increasingly important for technical systems to be able to interact flexibly, robustly and fluently with humans in real-world scenarios. However, while current AI systems excel at narrow task competencies, they lack crucial interaction abilities for the adaptive and co-constructed social interactions that humans engage in. We argue that a possible avenue to tackle the corresponding computational modelling challenges is to embrace interactive theories of social understanding in humans. We propose the notion of socially enactive cognitive systems that do not rely solely on abstract and (quasi-)complete internal models for separate social perception, reasoning and action. By contrast, socially enactive cognitive agents are supposed to enable a close interlinking of the enactive socio-cognitive processing loops within each agent, and the social-communicative loop between them. We discuss theoretical foundations of this view, identify principles and requirements for according computational approaches, and highlight three examples of our own research that showcase the interaction abilities achievable in this way. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Face2face: advancing the science of social interaction'.

Reliability of qualitative and quantitative assessment of adhesive remnants after debonding of ceramic brackets bonded with Transbond™XT on human molar teeth: An in vitro study.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that there are any differences between qualitative and quantitative methods of adhesive remnants index (ARI) scores on the buccal surfaces of the upper molar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 34 upper first human molars. After etching for 20seconds by using 35% orthophosphoric acid (Ultra-Etch, Ultradent Products Inc., USA) and then rinsed with distilled water for 15seconds, the adhesive (Transbond™XT, 3M™, USA) was applied and cured with the polymerization lamp (Bluephase Style, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein) for 10seconds. Ceramic brackets (Damon® Clear™, Ormco, USA) were placed by composite (Transbond™XT, 3M™, USA) on the buccal surface of the molars. Following 24-hour storage of the samples in distilled water (WB-12, Phoenix Instrument, Gabsen, Germany) at 37°C, the brackets were debonded using a debonding plier (Damon Clear Debonding Plier, Ormco, USA). ARI and a modified ARI-scoring system were used. Three independent observers scored the ARI with the naked eye under 10x, 20x, and 32x magnifications using Stereomicroscope Stemi DV4 (Zeiss, Germany). Afterward, the digital microscope VHX-5000 (Keyence, Japan) under 50x magnification was used for the quantitative analysis of the adhesive remnants by just one evaluator. The Fleiss' Kappa-coefficient test was used to assess interrupter reliability. RESULTS: Fleiss' Kappa-coefficient test show that the highest amount of agreement between observers is observed using the naked eye for both of the scoring methods P<0.001. Increasing the magnification led to the moderate decrease of inter-observer agreement. For evaluations with naked eye, a higher agreement is observed for the modified ARI score compared to the ARI scored. The agreement between the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the ARI score rose with increasing magnification. CONCLUSION: The assessment of adhesive remnants should be done either with naked eye or under 10x magnification, as they showed the highest rate of intra-observer agreement.

Self-Explaining Social Robots: An Explainable Behavior Generation Architecture for Human-Robot Interaction.

In recent years, the ability of intelligent systems to be understood by developers and users has received growing attention. This holds in particular for social robots, which are supposed to act autonomously in the vicinity of human users and are known to raise peculiar, often unrealistic attributions and expectations. However, explainable models that, on the one hand, allow a robot to generate lively and autonomous behavior and, on the other, enable it to provide human-compatible explanations for this behavior are missing. In order to develop such a self-explaining autonomous social robot, we have equipped a robot with own needs that autonomously trigger intentions and proactive behavior, and form the basis for understandable self-explanations. Previous research has shown that undesirable robot behavior is rated more positively after receiving an explanation. We thus aim to equip a social robot with the capability to automatically generate verbal explanations of its own behavior, by tracing its internal decision-making routes. The goal is to generate social robot behavior in a way that is generally interpretable, and therefore explainable on a socio-behavioral level increasing users' understanding of the robot's behavior. In this article, we present a social robot interaction architecture, designed to autonomously generate social behavior and self-explanations. We set out requirements for explainable behavior generation architectures and propose a socio-interactive framework for behavior explanations in social human-robot interactions that enables explaining and elaborating according to users' needs for explanation that emerge within an interaction. Consequently, we introduce an interactive explanation dialog flow concept that incorporates empirically validated explanation types. These concepts are realized within the interaction architecture of a social robot, and integrated with its dialog processing modules. We present the components of this interaction architecture and explain their integration to autonomously generate social behaviors as well as verbal self-explanations. Lastly, we report results from a qualitative evaluation of a working prototype in a laboratory setting, showing that (1) the robot is able to autonomously generate naturalistic social behavior, and (2) the robot is able to verbally self-explain its behavior to the user in line with users' requests.

The Relation Between Cognitive Abilities and the Distribution of Semantic Features Across Speech and Gesture in 4-year-olds.

When young children learn to use language, they start to use their hands in co-verbal gesturing. There are, however, considerable differences between children, and it is not completely understood what these individual differences are due to. We studied how children at 4 years of age employ speech and iconic gestures to convey meaning in different kinds of spatial event descriptions, and how this relates to their cognitive abilities. Focusing on spontaneous illustrations of actions, we applied a semantic feature (SF) analysis to characterize combinations of speech and gesture meaning and related them to the child's visual-spatial abilities or abstract/concrete reasoning abilities (measured using the standardized SON-R 212-7 test). Results show that children with higher cognitive abilities convey significantly more meaning via gesture and less solely via speech. These findings suggest that young children's use of cospeech representational gesturing is positively related to their mental representation and reasoning abilities.

Revisiting Human-Agent Communication: The Importance of Joint Co-construction and Understanding Mental States.

The study of human-human communication and the development of computational models for human-agent communication have diverged significantly throughout the last decade. Yet, despite frequently made claims of "super-human performance" in, e.g., speech recognition or image processing, so far, no system is able to lead a half-decent coherent conversation with a human. In this paper, we argue that we must start to re-consider the hallmarks of cooperative communication and the core capabilities that we have developed for it, and which conversational agents need to be equipped with: incremental joint co-construction and mentalizing. We base our argument on a vast body of work on human-human communication and its psychological processes that we reason to be relevant and necessary to take into account when modeling human-agent communication. We contrast those with current conceptualizations of human-agent interaction and formulate suggestions for the development of future systems.

Effect of a sports mouthguard on the functional range of motion of the spine and the upper body posture in taekwondo.

BACKGROUND: The aim is to investigate to what extent the different oral protections compared to the habitual occlusion affect the upper body posture in statics and during taekwondo-specific movement. METHODS: 12 Taekwondoka (5 f/7 m) of German national team were measured by using a 3d back scanner and an ultrasonic distance measuring (upright stand, taekwondo attack and defense movement, two taekwondo specific combinations) in habitual occlusion, with a custom-made and ready-made mouth protection RESULTS: There are no significant changes in the upper body posture (p ≥ 0.05). Depending on the dynamic measurements, different significant reactions of the spinal position were found while wearing the custom made mouthguard or the ready-made mouthguard according to the conducted movement. CONCLUSION: The measured changes in dynamic movements are not clinical relevant. Based on the positive responses from the participants, the custom-made mouth protection can be recommended combined with an individual analysis.

The impact of a total knee arthroplasty on jaw movements, upper body posture, plantar pressure distribution, and postural control.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on linked cranial and caudal structures. Methods: Thirty-five (14f/21m) subjects participated in this study: 15 subjects (9f, 6m) pre- and post- TKA and a control group of 20 subjects (5f, 15m). The measurements included: jaw condyle position and movement, back scan, plantar pressure distribution, and body sway. Results: There were no significant differences in electronic position analysis of the jaw; however, the protrusion of the TKA group improved (p = 0.001). The test group had a more anteriorly inclined thoracic spine and a less pronounced lumbar lordosis. Before and after surgery, the body sway in the test group was larger. Conclusion: The TKA affected most prominently the static mechanisms of the postural control and the spine position. The trajectories of the mandible during protrusion also changed slightly.

Age-Related Differences in the Evaluation of a Virtual Health Agent's Appearance and Embodiment in a Health-Related Interaction: Experimental Lab Study.

BACKGROUND: Assistive technologies have become more important owing to the aging population, especially when they foster healthy behaviors. Because of their natural interface, virtual agents are promising assistants for people in need of support. To engage people during an interaction with these technologies, such assistants need to match the users´ needs and preferences, especially with regard to social outcomes. OBJECTIVE: Prior research has already determined the importance of an agent's appearance in a human-agent interaction. As seniors can particularly benefit from the use of virtual agents to maintain their autonomy, it is important to investigate their special needs. However, there are almost no studies focusing on age-related differences with regard to appearance effects. METHODS: A 2×4 between-subjects design was used to investigate the age-related differences of appearance effects in a human-agent interaction. In this study, 46 seniors and 84 students interacted in a health scenario with a virtual agent, whose appearance varied (cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, cartoon-stylized machine-like agent, more realistic humanoid agent, and nonembodied agent [voice only]). After the interaction, participants reported on the evaluation of the agent, usage intention, perceived presence of the agent, bonding toward the agent, and overall evaluation of the interaction. RESULTS: The findings suggested that seniors evaluated the agent more positively (liked the agent more and evaluated it as more realistic, attractive, and sociable) and showed more bonding toward the agent regardless of the appearance than did students. In addition, interaction effects were found. Seniors reported the highest usage intention for the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, whereas students reported the lowest usage intention for this agent. The same pattern was found for participant bonding with the agent. Seniors showed more bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent or voice only agent, whereas students showed the least bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent. CONCLUSIONS: In health-related interactions, target group-related differences exist with regard to a virtual assistant's appearance. When elderly individuals are the target group, a humanoid virtual assistant might trigger specific social responses and be evaluated more positively at least in short-term interactions.

Correction to: Comparison between the musician-specific seating position of high string bow players and their habitual seating position - a video raster stereographic study of the dorsal upper body posture.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s12995-018-0217-6.].

A Predictive Processing Model of Perception and Action for Self-Other Distinction.

During interaction with others, we perceive and produce social actions in close temporal distance or even simultaneously. It has been argued that the motor system is involved in perception and action, playing a fundamental role in the handling of actions produced by oneself and by others. But how does it distinguish in this processing between self and other, thus contributing to self-other distinction? In this paper we propose a hierarchical model of sensorimotor coordination based on principles of perception-action coupling and predictive processing in which self-other distinction arises during action and perception. For this we draw on mechanisms assumed for the integration of cues for a sense of agency, i.e., the sense that an action is self-generated. We report results from simulations of different scenarios, showing that the model is not only able to minimize free energy during perception and action, but also showing that the model can correctly attribute sense of agency to own actions.

Comparison between the musician-specific seating position of high string bow players and their habitual seating position - a video raster stereographic study of the dorsal upper body posture.

BACKGROUND: Effects of playing high stringed bow instruments on the upper body posture have not been analysed so far. The instrument-specific seating position when playing in an orchestra is compared to the habitual seating position. METHODS: Three dimensional back scans were performed in 13 professional violinists and viola players of a radio orchestra (8 f / 5 m). Trunk position in their habitual seating position and in the instrument- specific seating position imitating playing was compared. Statistical differences were calculated using Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Test with Bonferroni Holm correction. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the seated position with instrument and without (p < 0.001, 0.03, 0.02 or 0.01) in the spine (trunk length, sagittal trunk decline, lumbar bending angle, maximal rotation, standard deviation rotation, lumbar lordosis), the shoulder (scapula distance, scapula rotation, scapula angle right) and pelvis distance. CONCLUSIONS: Playing an instrument changes the static seating position by increased rotation of the spine and specific shoulder adaptations holding the instrument (left arm) and the bow (right arm), with minor effects on the pelvis. This forced position may result in chronic health effects. The method used in this study is an approach to better understand the involved muscular structures and possible resulting health damages.

Confidence in uncertainty: Error cost and commitment in early speech hypotheses.

Interactions with artificial agents often lack immediacy because agents respond slower than their users expect. Automatic speech recognisers introduce this delay by analysing a user's utterance only after it has been completed. Early, uncertain hypotheses of incremental speech recognisers can enable artificial agents to respond more timely. However, these hypotheses may change significantly with each update. Therefore, an already initiated action may turn into an error and invoke error cost. We investigated whether humans would use uncertain hypotheses for planning ahead and/or initiating their response. We designed a Ghost-in-the-Machine study in a bar scenario. A human participant controlled a bartending robot and perceived the scene only through its recognisers. The results showed that participants used uncertain hypotheses for selecting the best matching action. This is comparable to computing the utility of dialogue moves. Participants evaluated the available evidence and the error cost of their actions prior to initiating them. If the error cost was low, the participants initiated their response with only suggestive evidence. Otherwise, they waited for additional, more confident hypotheses if they still had time to do so. If there was time pressure but only little evidence, participants grounded their understanding with echo questions. These findings contribute to a psychologically plausible policy for human-robot interaction that enables artificial agents to respond more timely and socially appropriately under uncertainty.

Standard values of the upper body posture in male adults.

BACKGROUND: Interactions within the musculoskeletal system have been investigated and confirmed in numerous studies. OBJECTIVES: Since there are no standard values for the posture of healthy persons, this study attempts to define reference values for the upper body posture in healthy men. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 3-dimensional back scan was performed to quantify the upper back posture while habitually standing. Tolerance regions for habitual posture were calculated, including the upper and lower limit for 95% of all values. Furthermore, the left and right limit of the confidence interval (CI) was carried out. Group differences were tested by using the t-test or the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of the participants were comparable to those of the average young German males. The spinal column was marginally twisted to the right. The spinal curves, defined by the thoracic or lumbar flexion angle, and the kyphosis and lordosis angle, indicated that the angle in the thoracic spine area was larger than that in the lumbar region. Consequently, a more kyphotic posture was observed in the sagittal plane. The habitual posture was slightly scoliotic, with a rotational component (scapular depression left, right scapula marginally located more dorsally, high state of pelvic left, iliac left further rotated posteriorly and simultaneously tilted further ventrally). No significant difference between right and left-handed persons could be proven. CONCLUSIONS: Video raster stereography is a suitable method to measure the 3-dimensional back surface. Using this method for healthy young men, we observed that they had an almost ideally balanced posture with minimal ventral body inclination and a marginal scoliotic deviation. The normal values allow a better comparison of data between different studies of body posture.

Action Choice and Outcome Congruency Independently Affect Intentional Binding and Feeling of Control Judgments.

Sense of agency (SoA) refers to the subjective experience that one is in control of their actions and the consequences of these actions. The SoA is a complex phenomenon, influenced by a weighted combination of various prospective (pre-movement) and retrospective (post-movement) processes and factors related to action choice, action selection fluency, action-outcome associations and higher-level inferences. In the current study, we examined the effect of the congruency between actions and outcomes in a context where the choice-level of actions was varied from 1 to 4. The actions consisted of right, left, up and down key presses while the outcomes were visual representations of the actions (i.e., right, left, up and down-pointing arrowheads). Participants performed either an instructed action or freely selected an action among two, three, or four alternatives. Each action randomly produced either a congruent or an incongruent outcome, depending on the matching between the direction of the key press and the direction of the outcome arrowhead. Participants estimated the delay between their actions and the observed outcomes and reported their feeling of control (FoC) over the outcomes. Interval estimations were used as an indirect measure of the SoA to quantify the intentional binding effect, which refers to the perceived temporal attraction between voluntary actions and their outcomes. The results showed that both intentional binding and FoC were enhanced as the choice-level was increased from 1 to 4. Additionally, intentional binding and FoC over the outcomes were stronger when actions produced congruent compared to incongruent outcomes. These results provide additional evidence that both intentional binding and FoC are sensitive to the number of action alternatives and the congruency between actions and their outcomes. Importantly, the current study suggests that these prospective and retrospective cues might independently influence intentional binding and FoC judgments.