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Grasso-Cladera A, Costa-Cordella S, Mattoli-Sánchez J, Vilina E, Santander V, Hiltner SE, Parada FJ. Embodied hyperscanning for studying social interaction: A scoping review of simultaneous brain and body measurements. Soc Neurosci 2024:1-17. [PMID: 39387663 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2024.2409758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 10/15/2024]
Abstract
We systematically investigated the application of embodied hyperscanning methodologies in social neuroscience research. Hyperscanning enables the simultaneous recording of neurophysiological and physiological signals from multiple participants. We highlight the trend toward integrating Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) within the 4E research framework, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of brain, body, and environment. Our analysis revealed a geographic concentration of studies in the Global North, calling for global collaboration and transcultural research to balance the field. The predominant use of Magneto/Electroencephalogram (M/EEG) in these studies suggests a traditional brain-centric perspective in social neuroscience. Future research directions should focus on integrating diverse techniques to capture the dynamic interplay between brain and body functions in real-world contexts. Our review also finds a preference for tasks involving natural settings. Nevertheless, the analysis in hyperscanning studies is often limited to physiological signal synchrony between participants. This suggests a need for more holistic and complex approaches that combine inter-corporeal synchrony with intra-individual measures. We believe that the future of the neuroscience of relationships lies in embracing the complexity of cognition, integrating diverse methods and theories to enrich our grasp of human social behavior in its natural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefanella Costa-Cordella
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología (CENHN), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- Centro de Estudios en Psicología Clínica y Psicoterapia (CEPPS), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales institution, Santiago, Chile
- Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad (MIDAP), Santiago, Chile
| | - Josefina Mattoli-Sánchez
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología (CENHN), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- Programa de Pregrado en Psicología, Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
| | - Erich Vilina
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología (CENHN), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
| | - Valentina Santander
- Programa de Magíster en Neurociencia Social, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
| | - Shari E Hiltner
- Department of Psychology, Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Francisco J Parada
- Department of Psychology, Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Escuela de Diseño, Facultad de Arquitectura, Arte y Diseño, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
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Schwartz L, Hayut O, Levy J, Gordon I, Feldman R. Sensitive infant care tunes a frontotemporal interbrain network in adolescence. Sci Rep 2024; 14:22602. [PMID: 39349700 PMCID: PMC11442694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-73630-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 09/19/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Caregiving plays a critical role in children's cognitive, emotional, and psychological well-being. In the current longitudinal study, we investigated the enduring effects of early maternal behavior on processes of interbrain synchrony in adolescence. Mother-infant naturalistic interactions were filmed when infants were 3-4 months old and interactions were coded for maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness with the Coding Interactive Behavior Manual. In early adolescence (Mean = 12.30, SD = 1.25), mother-adolescent interbrain synchrony was measured using hyperscanning EEG during a naturalistic interaction of positive valence. Guided by previous hyperscanning studies, we focused on interbrain connections within the right frontotemporal interbrain network. Results indicate that maternal sensitivity in early infancy was longitudinally associated with neural synchrony in the right interbrain frontotemporal network. Post-hoc comparisons highlighted enhancement of mother-adolescent frontal-frontal connectivity, a connection that has been implicated in parent-child social communication. In contrast, maternal intrusiveness in infancy was linked with attenuation of interbrain synchrony in the right interbrain frontotemporal network. Sensitivity and intrusiveness are key maternal social orientations that have shown to be individually stable in the mother-child relationship from infancy to adulthood and foreshadow children's positive and negative social-emotional outcomes, respectively. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that these two maternal orientations play a role in enhancing or attenuating the child's interbrain frontotemporal network, which sustains social communication and affiliation. Results suggest that the reported long-term impact of maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness may relate, in part, to its effects on tuning the child's brain to sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linoy Schwartz
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, 0460101, Israel
| | - Olga Hayut
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, 0460101, Israel
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, 0460101, Israel
- Department of Criminology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ilanit Gordon
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, USA
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, 0460101, Israel.
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, USA.
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Konrad K, Puetz VB. A context-dependent model of resilient functioning after childhood maltreatment-the case for flexible biobehavioral synchrony. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:388. [PMID: 39333480 PMCID: PMC11436866 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03092-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2024] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 09/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Many children who experience childhood adversity, whether in the form of threat or deprivation, develop adaptive competencies that lead to resilient functioning. Still, research has not succeeded in accurately predicting the level of resilient functioning by any kind of biomarkers, likely because it has sidelined the flexibility inherent in a construct that is situationally and developmentally variable. Whilst recent research acknowledges the importance of redefining resilience in order to reflect its dynamic nature after adversity, evidence for specific behaviors that are developmentally adaptive and dynamic throughout the lifespan is limited. We here propose a model in which resilient functioning is crucially dependent on the individual's capability to flexibly synchronize with and segregate from another's cognitive-affective, behavioral, and physiological states, known as 'biobehavioral synchrony'. Such an adaptive interpersonal skill is rooted in (a) the early caregiving experience and its regulatory effects on an individual's physiological stress reactivity, as well as (b) the development of self-other distinction which can be affected by childhood maltreatment. Bridging the gap between accounts of flexible resilient functioning and the latest thinking in biobehavioral synchrony, we will review behavioral and neurobiological evidence that threat and deprivation in childhood interfere with the development of dynamic, context-sensitive boundaries between self and other, mediated by the (right) tempo-parietal junction (a central neural hub for interpersonal synchronization), which puts the individual at risk for affective fusion or cut-off from others' arousal states. Our proposed model charts a path for investigating the differential effects of maltreatment experiences and mechanisms for intergenerational transmission of non-sensitive caregiving. We conclude with metrics, data analysis methods, and strategies to facilitate flexible biobehavioral synchrony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Juelich, Germany
| | - Vanessa B Puetz
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK.
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Thompson KI, Schneider CJ, Rocha-Hidalgo J, Jeyaram S, Mata-Centeno B, Furtado E, Vachhani S, Pérez-Edgar K, Perlman SB. Constructing the "Family Personality": Can Family Functioning Be Linked to Parent-Child Interpersonal Neural Synchronization? J Pers 2024. [PMID: 39248009 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 08/23/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Early child development occurs within an interactive environment, initially dominated by parents or caregivers, and is heavily influenced by the dynamics of this social context. The current study probed the neurobiology of "family personality", or family functioning, in the context of parent-child dyadic interaction using a two-person neuroimaging modality. METHODS One hundred and five parent-child dyads (child mean age 5 years 4 months) were recruited. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning was employed to measure neural synchrony while dyads completed a mildly stressful interactive task. Family functioning was measured through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV). RESULTS Synchrony during stress was significantly greater than synchrony during both baseline and recovery conditions for all dyads. A significant interaction between neural synchrony in each task condition and familial balanced flexibility was found, such that higher levels of balanced flexibility were associated with greater changes in frontal cortex neural synchrony as dyads progressed through the three task conditions. DISCUSSION Parent-child dyads from families who display heightened levels of balanced flexibility are also more flexible in their engagement of neural synchrony when shifting between social conditions. This is one of the first studies to utilize a two-person imaging modality to explore the links between family functioning and interbrain synchrony between parents and their children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalil I Thompson
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Clayton J Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Shri Jeyaram
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Bedilia Mata-Centeno
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Emily Furtado
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Shreeja Vachhani
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Koraly Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Susan B Perlman
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Varlet M, Grootswagers T. Measuring information alignment in hyperscanning research with representational analyses: moving beyond interbrain synchrony. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1385624. [PMID: 39118818 PMCID: PMC11306121 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1385624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Hyperscanning, which enables the recording of brain activity from multiple individuals simultaneously, has been increasingly used to investigate the neuropsychological processes underpinning social interaction. Previous hyperscanning research has primarily focused on interbrain synchrony, demonstrating an enhanced alignment of brain waves across individuals during social interaction. However, using EEG hyperscanning simulations, we here show that interbrain synchrony has low sensitivity to information alignment across people. Surprisingly, interbrain synchrony remains largely unchanged despite manipulating whether two individuals are seeing same or different things at the same time. Furthermore, we show that hyperscanning recordings do contain indices of interpersonal information alignment and that they can be captured using representational analyses. These findings highlight major limitations of current hyperscanning research and offer a promising alternative for investigating interactive minds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Varlet
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Tijl Grootswagers
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Computer, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Li Y, Halleck TQ, Evans L, Bassuk PB, de la Paz L, Demir-Lira ÖE. Eye of the beholder: Neural synchrony of dynamically changing relations between parent praise and child affect. Dev Sci 2024:e13541. [PMID: 38958643 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to determine the role of parental praise and child affect in the neural processes underlying parent-child interactions, utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning. We characterized the dynamic changes in interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) between parents and children (4-6 years old, n = 40 dyads) during a cognitively challenging task. We then examined how changes in parent-child INS are influenced by parental feedback and child affect. Parent-child INS showed a quadratic change over time, indicating a decelerated decline during the interaction period. The relationship of parental praise, in the form of positive feedback, to change in INS was contingent upon the child's positive affect during the task. The highest levels of INS were observed when praise was present and child affect was positive. The left temporo-parietal regions of the child and the right dorsolateral prefrontal and right temporo-parietal regions of the parent demonstrated the strongest INS. The dynamic change in INS during the interaction was associated with children's independent performance on a standardized test of visuospatial processing. This research, leveraging fNIRS hyperscanning, elucidates the neural dynamics underlying the interaction between parent praise and child positive affect, thereby contributing to our broader understanding of parent-child dynamics. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The level of interpersonal neural synchrony between parents and children dynamically varies during a cognitively challenging (tangram) task. The left temporo-parietal regions of the child and the right dorsolateral prefrontal and right temporo-parietal regions of the parent demonstrate the strongest parent-child neural synchrony. The relationship between parental praise (positive feedback) and parent-child neural synchrony is contingent upon child positive affect during the task. Change in parent-child neural synchrony relates to children's performance on an independent visuospatial processing measure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Li
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Talia Q Halleck
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Laura Evans
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Paras Bhagwat Bassuk
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Leiana de la Paz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Ö Ece Demir-Lira
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
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Zamm A, Loehr JD, Vesper C, Konvalinka I, Kappel SL, Heggli OA, Vuust P, Keller PE. A practical guide to EEG hyperscanning in joint action research: from motivation to implementation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae026. [PMID: 38584414 PMCID: PMC11086947 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Developments in cognitive neuroscience have led to the emergence of hyperscanning, the simultaneous measurement of brain activity from multiple people. Hyperscanning is useful for investigating social cognition, including joint action, because of its ability to capture neural processes that occur within and between people as they coordinate actions toward a shared goal. Here, we provide a practical guide for researchers considering using hyperscanning to study joint action and seeking to avoid frequently raised concerns from hyperscanning skeptics. We focus specifically on Electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning, which is widely available and optimally suited for capturing fine-grained temporal dynamics of action coordination. Our guidelines cover questions that are likely to arise when planning a hyperscanning project, ranging from whether hyperscanning is appropriate for answering one's research questions to considerations for study design, dependent variable selection, data analysis and visualization. By following clear guidelines that facilitate careful consideration of the theoretical implications of research design choices and other methodological decisions, joint action researchers can mitigate interpretability issues and maximize the benefits of hyperscanning paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zamm
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Janeen D Loehr
- Department of Psychology and Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Cordula Vesper
- Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Interacting Minds Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Ivana Konvalinka
- Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby DK-2800, Denmark
| | - Simon L Kappel
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Aarhus N 8200, Denmark
| | - Ole A Heggli
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Peter E Keller
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales 2751, Australia
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Konrad K, Gerloff C, Kohl SH, Mehler DMA, Mehlem L, Volbert EL, Komorek M, Henn AT, Boecker M, Weiss E, Reindl V. Interpersonal neural synchrony and mental disorders: unlocking potential pathways for clinical interventions. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1286130. [PMID: 38529267 PMCID: PMC10962391 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1286130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Interpersonal synchronization involves the alignment of behavioral, affective, physiological, and brain states during social interactions. It facilitates empathy, emotion regulation, and prosocial commitment. Mental disorders characterized by social interaction dysfunction, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), often exhibit atypical synchronization with others across multiple levels. With the introduction of the "second-person" neuroscience perspective, our understanding of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) has improved, however, so far, it has hardly impacted the development of novel therapeutic interventions. Methods To evaluate the potential of INS-based treatments for mental disorders, we performed two systematic literature searches identifying studies that directly target INS through neurofeedback (12 publications; 9 independent studies) or brain stimulation techniques (7 studies), following PRISMA guidelines. In addition, we narratively review indirect INS manipulations through behavioral, biofeedback, or hormonal interventions. We discuss the potential of such treatments for ASD, RAD, and SAD and using a systematic database search assess the acceptability of neurofeedback (4 studies) and neurostimulation (4 studies) in patients with social dysfunction. Results Although behavioral approaches, such as engaging in eye contact or cooperative actions, have been shown to be associated with increased INS, little is known about potential long-term consequences of such interventions. Few proof-of-concept studies have utilized brain stimulation techniques, like transcranial direct current stimulation or INS-based neurofeedback, showing feasibility and preliminary evidence that such interventions can boost behavioral synchrony and social connectedness. Yet, optimal brain stimulation protocols and neurofeedback parameters are still undefined. For ASD, RAD, or SAD, so far no randomized controlled trial has proven the efficacy of direct INS-based intervention techniques, although in general brain stimulation and neurofeedback methods seem to be well accepted in these patient groups. Discussion Significant work remains to translate INS-based manipulations into effective treatments for social interaction disorders. Future research should focus on mechanistic insights into INS, technological advancements, and rigorous design standards. Furthermore, it will be key to compare interventions directly targeting INS to those targeting other modalities of synchrony as well as to define optimal target dyads and target synchrony states in clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christian Gerloff
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon H. Kohl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - David M. A. Mehler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Lena Mehlem
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Emily L. Volbert
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maike Komorek
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alina T. Henn
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maren Boecker
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Eileen Weiss
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reindl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Takeuchi N. A dual-brain therapeutic approach using noninvasive brain stimulation based on two-person neuroscience: A perspective review. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING : MBE 2024; 21:5118-5137. [PMID: 38872529 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2024226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Our actions and decisions in everyday life are heavily influenced by social interactions, which are dynamic feedback loops involving actions, reactions, and internal cognitive processes between individual agents. Social interactions induce interpersonal synchrony, which occurs at different biobehavioral levels and comprises behavioral, physiological, and neurological activities. Hyperscanning-a neuroimaging technique that simultaneously measures the activity of multiple brain regions-has provided a powerful second-person neuroscience tool for investigating the phase alignment of neural processes during interactive social behavior. Neural synchronization, revealed by hyperscanning, is a phenomenon called inter-brain synchrony- a process that purportedly facilitates social interactions by prompting appropriate anticipation of and responses to each other's social behaviors during ongoing shared interactions. In this review, I explored the therapeutic dual-brain approach using noninvasive brain stimulation to target inter-brain synchrony based on second-person neuroscience to modulate social interaction. Artificially inducing synchrony between the brains is a potential adjunct technique to physiotherapy, psychotherapy, and pain treatment- which are strongly influenced by the social interaction between the therapist and patient. Dual-brain approaches to personalize stimulation parameters must consider temporal, spatial, and oscillatory factors. Multiple data fusion analysis, the assessment of inter-brain plasticity, a closed-loop system, and a brain-to-brain interface can support personalized stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoyuki Takeuchi
- Department of Physical Therapy, Akita University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-1-1 Hondo, Akita, 010-8543, Japan
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10
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Zhao Q, Zhao W, Lu C, Du H, Chi P. Interpersonal neural synchronization during social interactions in close relationships: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105565. [PMID: 38295965 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, researchers have used hyperscanning techniques to explore how brains interact during various human activities. These studies have revealed a phenomenon called interpersonal neural synchronization (INS), but little research has focused on the overall effect of INS in close relationships. To address this gap, this study aims to synthesize and analyze the existing literature on INS during social interactions in close relationships. We conducted a meta-analysis of 17 functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning studies involving 1149 dyads participants, including romantic couples and parent-child dyads. The results revealed robust and consistent INS in the frontal, temporal, and parietal regions of the brain and found similar INS patterns in couples and parent-child studies, providing solid empirical evidence for the attachment theory. Moreover, the age of children and brain areas were significant predictors of the effect size in parent-child research. The developmental stage of children and the mismatched development of brain structures might be the crucial factors for the difference in neural performance in social and cognitive behaviors in parent-child dyads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China
| | - Wan Zhao
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Hongfei Du
- Department of Psychology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, Guangdong, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China.
| | - Peilian Chi
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China.
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Liu Q, Zhu S, Zhou X, Liu F, Becker B, Kendrick KM, Zhao W. Mothers and fathers show different neural synchrony with their children during shared experiences. Neuroimage 2024; 288:120529. [PMID: 38301879 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Parent-child shared experiences has an important influence on social development in children although contributions of mothers and fathers may differ. Neural synchronicity occurs between mothers and fathers and their children during social interactions but it is unclear whether they differ in this respect. We used data from simultaneous fNIRS hyperscanning in mothers (n = 33) and fathers (n = 29) and their children (3-4 years) to determine different patterns and strengths of neural synchronization in the frontal cortex during co-viewing of videos or free-play. Mothers showed greater synchrony with child than fathers during passive viewing of videos and the synchronization was positively associated with video complexity and negatively associated with parental stress. During play interactions, mothers showed more controlling behaviors over their child and greater evidence for joint gaze and joint imitation play with child whereas fathers spent more time gazing at other things. In addition, different aspects of child communication promoted neural synchrony between mothers and fathers and child during active play interactions. Overall, our findings indicate greater neural and behavioral synchrony between mothers than fathers and young children during passive or active shared experiences, although for both it was weakened by parental distress and child difficulty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
| | - Siyu Zhu
- School of Sport Training, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, PR China
| | - Fang Liu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China; The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, PR China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China.
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China; The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China; Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering of UESTC in Guangdong, Dongguan, 523808, PR China.
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12
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Kurihara Y, Takahashi T, Osu R. The topology of interpersonal neural network in weak social ties. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4961. [PMID: 38418895 PMCID: PMC11336176 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55495-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The strategies for social interaction between strangers differ from those between acquaintances, whereas the differences in neural basis of social interaction have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we examined the geometrical properties of interpersonal neural networks in pairs of strangers and acquaintances during antiphase joint tapping. Dual electroencephalogram (EEG) of 29 channels per participant was measured from 14 strangers and 13 acquaintance pairs.Intra-brain synchronizations were calculated using the weighted phase lag index (wPLI) for intra-brain electrode combinations, and inter-brain synchronizations were calculated using the phase locking value (PLV) for inter-brain electrode combinations in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. For each participant pair, electrode combinations with larger wPLI/PLV than their surrogates were defined as the edges of the neural networks. We calculated global efficiency, local efficiency, and modularity derived from graph theory for the combined intra- and inter-brain networks of each pair. In the theta band networks, stranger pairs showed larger local efficiency than acquaintance pairs, indicating that the two brains of stranger pairs were more densely connected. Hence, weak social ties require extensive social interactions and result in high efficiency of information transfer between neighbors in neural network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Kurihara
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
| | - Toru Takahashi
- Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
| | - Rieko Osu
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.
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13
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Schwartz L, Levy J, Hayut O, Netzer O, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Feldman R. Generation WhatsApp: inter-brain synchrony during face-to-face and texting communication. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2672. [PMID: 38302582 PMCID: PMC10834538 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52587-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Texting has become one of the most prevalent ways to interact socially, particularly among youth; however, the effects of text messaging on social brain functioning are unknown. Guided by the biobehavioral synchrony frame, this pre-registered study utilized hyperscanning EEG to evaluate interbrain synchrony during face-to-face versus texting interactions. Participants included 65 mother-adolescent dyads observed during face-to-face conversation compared to texting from different rooms. Results indicate that both face-to-face and texting communication elicit significant neural synchrony compared to surrogate data, demonstrating for the first time brain-to-brain synchrony during texting. Direct comparison between the two interactions highlighted 8 fronto-temporal interbrain links that were significantly stronger in the face-to-face interaction compared to texting. Our findings suggest that partners co-create a fronto-temporal network of inter-brain connections during live social exchanges. The degree of improvement in the partners' right-frontal-right-frontal connectivity from texting to the live social interaction correlated with greater behavioral synchrony, suggesting that this well-researched neural connection may be specific to face-to-face communication. Our findings suggest that while technology-based communication allows humans to synchronize from afar, face-to-face interactions remain the superior mode of communication for interpersonal connection. We conclude by discussing the potential benefits and drawbacks of the pervasive use of texting, particularly among youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linoy Schwartz
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
- Department of Criminology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Olga Hayut
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ofir Netzer
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, USA.
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14
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Mayo O, Shamay-Tsoory S. Dynamic mutual predictions during social learning: A computational and interbrain model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105513. [PMID: 38135267 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
During social interactions, we constantly learn about the thoughts, feelings, and personality traits of our interaction partners. Learning in social interactions is critical for bond formation and acquiring knowledge. Importantly, this type of learning is typically bi-directional, as both partners learn about each other simultaneously. Here we review the literature on social learning and propose a new computational and neural model characterizing mutual predictions that take place within and between interactions. According to our model, each partner in the interaction attempts to minimize the prediction error of the self and the interaction partner. In most cases, these inferential models become similar over time, thus enabling mutual understanding to develop. At the neural level, this type of social learning may be supported by interbrain plasticity, defined as a change in interbrain coupling over time in neural networks associated with social learning, among them the mentalizing network, the observation-execution system, and the hippocampus. The mutual prediction model constitutes a promising means of providing empirically verifiable accounts of how relationships develop over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oded Mayo
- The Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
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15
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Lu H, Zhang Y, Qiu H, Zhang Z, Tan X, Huang P, Zhang M, Miao D, Zhu X. A new perspective for evaluating the efficacy of tACS and tDCS in improving executive functions: A combined tES and fNIRS study. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26559. [PMID: 38083976 PMCID: PMC10789209 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Executive function enhancement is considered necessary for improving the quality of life of patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has been shown to have some beneficial effects on executive functioning, but the quantification of these improvements remains controversial. We aimed to explore the potential beneficial effects on executive functioning induced by the use of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)/transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the accompanying brain function variations in the resting state. METHODS We recruited 229 healthy adults to participate in Experiments 1 (105 participants) and 2 (124 participants). The participants in each experiment were randomly divided into tACS, tDCS, and sham groups. The participants completed cognitive tasks to assess behavior related to three core components of executive functions. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to monitor the hemodynamic changes in crucial cortical regions in the resting state. RESULTS Inhibition and cognitive flexibility (excluding working memory) were significantly increased after tACS/tDCS, but there were no significant behavioral differences between the tACS and tDCS groups. fNIRS revealed that tDCS induced decreases in the functional connectivity (increased neural efficiency) of the relevant cortices. CONCLUSIONS Enhancement of executive function was observed after tES, and the beneficial effects of tACS/tDCS may need to be precisely evaluated via brain imaging indicators at rest. tDCS revealed better neural benefits than tACS during the stimulation phase. These findings might provide new insights for selecting intervention methods in future studies and for evaluating the clinical efficacy of tES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongliang Lu
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Yajuan Zhang
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Huake Qiu
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Zhilong Zhang
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Xuanyi Tan
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Mingming Zhang
- Department of Psychology, College of EducationShanghai Normal UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Danmin Miao
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Xia Zhu
- Department of Military Medical PsychologyAir Force Medical UniversityXi'anChina
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16
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Quadrelli E, Mermier J, Nazzari S, Bulf H, Turati C. You can't play with us: First-person ostracism affects infants' behavioral reactivity. Child Dev 2023; 94:e403-e412. [PMID: 37424333 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Ostracism negatively affects fundamental psychological needs, induces physiological and behavioral changes, and modulates the processing of social information in adults. Yet little is known about children and preverbal infants' responses to first-person experiences of ostracism. The current study aimed to explore the efficacy of a triadic ball-tossing game in manipulating social inclusion and ostracism with 13-month-old infants (N = 84; 44% males; mostly White; tested from 2019 to 2022) by developing an observational coding system. Infants' behaviors were recorded while participating in a ball-tossing game where they were either included or ostracized from the game. Ostracized, but not included, infants showed an increase in negative emotionality and involvement behaviors, thus suggesting that behavioral responses to being ostracized emerge early in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Quadrelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - J Mermier
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - S Nazzari
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - H Bulf
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - C Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
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17
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Capraz YZ, Konrad K, Reindl V. Concurrent and lagged physiological synchrony during mother-child interaction and their relationship to positive affect in 8- to 10-year-old children. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17744. [PMID: 37853034 PMCID: PMC10584844 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43847-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Mother-child interaction has been characterized by a fine-tuning of behavior and physiological activity. Yet, little is known about the dynamics of mother-child physiological synchrony during early school age and their associations to positive affect. To investigate these processes, 42 mother-child dyads, with children aged 8 to 10 years, played an interactive game while their interbeat intervals (IBI) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured simultaneously. IBI/RSA synchrony was calculated using cross-correlations of the IBI/RSA second-by-second time series for lags - 3 to + 3 seconds. Mother's and child's individual and shared positive affect were microcoded. During the interactive tasks, IBI and RSA synchrony significantly increased compared to control conditions. RSA and affect synchrony were significantly stronger for negative compared to positive lags indicating a stronger child leads/mother follows covariation. Further, dyad's IBI and RSA synchrony were significantly associated to mother's and child's individual positive affect. Our data suggest that in low-risk community samples, mothers may respond to their children's positive affect by matching their own affect and physiology. Investigating these temporally precise, concurrent and lagged synchrony processes may open up new avenues for understanding the ways in which parent-child interactions contribute to child developmental outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasemin Zehra Capraz
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Juelich, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reindl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Juelich, Germany.
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, S639818, Republic of Singapore.
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18
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Bi X, Cui H, Ma Y. Hyperscanning Studies on Interbrain Synchrony and Child Development: A Narrative Review. Neuroscience 2023; 530:38-45. [PMID: 37657749 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.08.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions between parents and children are closely linked with children's development, and interbrain synchrony has been shown to be a neural marker of social interaction. However, to truly capture the essence of social interactions through interbrain synchrony, it is necessary to simultaneously discuss the parental and child brains and adequately record neurological signals during parent-child interactions in interactive tasks. In the current review, we have reviewed three main contents. First, we discuss the correlation between parent-child interbrain synchrony and the development of cognitive (e.g., emotion regulation, attention, and learning) and behavioral abilities (e.g., cooperation, problem-solving) in children. Second, we examine the different neural mechanisms of interbrain synchrony in mother-child and father-child interactions, aiming to highlight the separate roles of mother and father in child development. Last, we have integrated four methods to enhance interbrain synchrony, including communication patterns, nonverbal behavior, music, and multichannel stimulation. A significant correlation exists between parent-child interbrain synchrony and the development of children's cognitive and behavioral abilities. This summary may be useful for expanding researchers' and practitioners' understanding of the ways in which parenting and the parent-child relationship shape children' cognitive and behavioral abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Bi
- School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China; Institution of Science, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Hongbo Cui
- School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yankun Ma
- School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
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19
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Yang M, Li X, Sang B, Deng X. Age differences in interbrain synchronization during peer cooperation: an EEG hyperscanning study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10614-10623. [PMID: 37615349 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Healthy peer relationships could provide emotional and social support for adolescents experiencing dramatic physical and environmental changes. Examining age differences in cognitive neural processing during peer interaction provides insight into adolescent interpersonal contact and "social brain" development. The present study compared the age differences between adolescents and adults by examining the behavior and interbrain synchronization of pairs in a cooperative computer game task. 32 pairs of adolescents and 31 pairs of adults were recruited as participants. The reaction times and interbrain synchronization of the participants were measured. The results revealed that interbrain synchronization activation following the onset of the "ready signal" was primarily detected in low-frequency bands such as delta and theta. Adolescent pairs' interbrain synchronization activations were significantly higher than those of adult pairs in the anterior and central brain regions, such as the frontal, frontal-central, and parietal lobes. Correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between occipital region interbrain synchronization and behavioral performance. The findings provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for the characteristics of adolescent interpersonal cognitive processing and point to the significance of low-frequency interbrain synchronization in interpersonal coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Yang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Xinqi Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Biao Sang
- Lab for Educational Big Data and Policymaking, Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Xinmei Deng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
- The Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
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20
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Nguyen T, Flaten E, Trainor LJ, Novembre G. Early social communication through music: State of the art and future perspectives. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 63:101279. [PMID: 37515832 PMCID: PMC10407289 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of research shows that the universal capacity for music perception and production emerges early in development. Possibly building on this predisposition, caregivers around the world often communicate with infants using songs or speech entailing song-like characteristics. This suggests that music might be one of the earliest developing and most accessible forms of interpersonal communication, providing a platform for studying early communicative behavior. However, little research has examined music in truly communicative contexts. The current work aims to facilitate the development of experimental approaches that rely on dynamic and naturalistic social interactions. We first review two longstanding lines of research that examine musical interactions by focusing either on the caregiver or the infant. These include defining the acoustic and non-acoustic features that characterize infant-directed (ID) music, as well as behavioral and neurophysiological research examining infants' processing of musical timing and pitch. Next, we review recent studies looking at early musical interactions holistically. This research focuses on how caregivers and infants interact using music to achieve co-regulation, mutual engagement, and increase affiliation and prosocial behavior. We conclude by discussing methodological, technological, and analytical advances that might empower a comprehensive study of musical communication in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trinh Nguyen
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy.
| | - Erica Flaten
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Canada
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
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21
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Zhou Z, Chen YY, Yang B, Qu Y, Lee TH. Family Cohesion Moderates the Relation between Parent-Child Neural Connectivity Pattern Similarity and Youth's Emotional Adjustment. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5936-5943. [PMID: 37400252 PMCID: PMC10436682 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0349-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite a recent surge in research examining parent-child neural similarity using fMRI, there remains a need for further investigation into how such similarity may play a role in children's emotional adjustment. Moreover, no prior studies explored the potential contextual factors that may moderate the link between parent-child neural similarity and children's developmental outcomes. In this study, 32 parent-youth dyads (parents: M age = 43.53 years, 72% female; children: M age = 11.69 years, 41% female) watched an emotion-evoking animated film while being scanned using fMRI. We first quantified how similarly emotion network interacts with other brain regions in responding to the emotion-evoking film between parents and their children. We then examined how such parent-child neural similarity is associated with children's emotional adjustment, with attention to the moderating role of family cohesion. Results revealed that higher parent-child similarity in functional connectivity pattern during movie viewing was associated with better emotional adjustment, including less negative affect, lower anxiety, and greater ego resilience in youth. Moreover, such associations were significant only among families with higher cohesion, but not among families with lower cohesion. The findings advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying how children thrive by being in sync and attuned with their parents, and provide novel empirical evidence that the effects of parent-child concordance at the neural level on children's development are contextually dependent.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT What neural processes underlie the attunement between children and their parents that helps children thrive? Using a naturalistic movie-watching fMRI paradigm, we find that greater parent-child similarity in how emotion network interacts with other brain regions during movie viewing is associated with youth's better emotional adjustment including less negative affect, lower anxiety, and greater ego resilience. Interestingly, these associations are only significant among families with higher cohesion, but not among those with lower cohesion. Our findings provide novel evidence that parent-child shared neural processes to emotional situations can confer benefits to children, and underscore the importance of considering specific family contexts in which parent-child neural similarity may be beneficial or detrimental to children's development, highlighting a crucial direction for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zexi Zhou
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | - Ya-Yun Chen
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
| | - Beiming Yang
- School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208
| | - Yang Qu
- School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208
| | - Tae-Ho Lee
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
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22
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do Nascimento DC, Santos da Silva JR, Ara A, Sato JR, Costa L. Hyperscanning fNIRS data analysis using multiregression dynamic models: an illustration in a violin duo. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1132160. [PMID: 37576070 PMCID: PMC10413103 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1132160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) demands a greater understanding of a brain's influence on others. Therefore, brain synchronization is an even more complex system than intrasubject brain connectivity and must be investigated. There is a need to develop novel methods for statistical inference in this context. Methods In this study, motivated by the analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning data, which measure the activity of multiple brains simultaneously, we propose a two-step network estimation: Tabu search local method and global maximization in the selected subgroup [partial conditional directed acyclic graph (DAG) + multiregression dynamic model]. We illustrate this approach in a dataset of two individuals who are playing the violin together. Results This study contributes new tools to the social neuroscience field, which may provide new perspectives about intersubject interactions. Our proposed approach estimates the best probabilistic network representation, in addition to providing access to the time-varying parameters, which may be helpful in understanding the brain-to-brain association of these two players. Discussion The illustration of the violin duo highlights the time-evolving changes in the brain activation of an individual influencing the other one through a data-driven analysis. We confirmed that one player was leading the other given the ROI causal relation toward the other player.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - José Roberto Santos da Silva
- Department of Statistics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- EcMetrics Pesquisa de Mercado, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Anderson Ara
- Departamento de Estatística, Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - João Ricardo Sato
- Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
| | - Lilia Costa
- Department of Statistics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
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Lotter LD, Kohl SH, Gerloff C, Bell L, Niephaus A, Kruppa JA, Dukart J, Schulte-Rüther M, Reindl V, Konrad K. Revealing the neurobiology underlying interpersonal neural synchronization with multimodal data fusion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 146:105042. [PMID: 36641012 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Humans synchronize with one another to foster successful interactions. Here, we use a multimodal data fusion approach with the aim of elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms by which interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) occurs. Our meta-analysis of 22 functional magnetic resonance imaging and 69 near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning experiments (740 and 3721 subjects) revealed robust brain regional correlates of INS in the right temporoparietal junction and left ventral prefrontal cortex. Integrating this meta-analytic information with public databases, biobehavioral and brain-functional association analyses suggested that INS involves sensory-integrative hubs with functional connections to mentalizing and attention networks. On the molecular and genetic levels, we found INS to be associated with GABAergic neurotransmission and layer IV/V neuronal circuits, protracted developmental gene expression patterns, and disorders of neurodevelopment. Although limited by the indirect nature of phenotypic-molecular association analyses, our findings generate new testable hypotheses on the neurobiological basis of INS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon D Lotter
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Max Planck School of Cognition, Stephanstrasse 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Simon H Kohl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christian Gerloff
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Chair II of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Laura Bell
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Audiovisual Media Center, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Niephaus
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jana A Kruppa
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Juergen Dukart
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Martin Schulte-Rüther
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reindl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, S639818, Singapore
| | - Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
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24
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Horowitz-Kraus T, Gashri C. Multimodal Approach for Characterizing the Quality of Parent-Child Interaction: A Single Synchronization Source May Not Tell the Whole Story. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12020241. [PMID: 36829518 PMCID: PMC9952901 DOI: 10.3390/biology12020241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The interaction between the parent and child is essential for the child's cognitive and emotional development and sets the path for future well-being. These interactions, starting from birth, are necessary for providing the sensory stimulation the child needs in the critical time window of brain development. The characterization of parent-child interactions is traditionally performed by human decoding. This approach is considered the leading and most accurate way of characterizing the quality of these interactions. However, the development of computational tools and especially the concept of parent-child synchronization opened up an additional source of data characterizing these interactions in an objective, less human-labor manner. Such sources include brain-to-brain, voice/speech, eye contact, motor, and heart-rate synchronization. However, can a single source synchronization dataset accurately represent parent-child interaction? Will attending to the same stimulation, often resulting in a higher brain-to-brain synchronization, be considered an interactive condition? In this perspective, we will try to convey a new concept of the child-parent interaction synchronization (CHIPS) matrix, which includes the different sources of signals generated during an interaction. Such a model may assist in explaining the source of interaction alterations in the case of child/parent developmental/emotional or sensory deficits and may open up new ways of assessing interventions and changes in parent-child interactions along development. We will discuss this interaction during one of the parent-child joint activities providing opportunities for interaction, i.e., storytelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
- Educational Neuroimaging Group, Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion, Haifa 3200003, Israel
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa 3200003, Israel
- Neuropsychology Department, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +972-522-989298
| | - Carmel Gashri
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa 3200003, Israel
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25
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Russo C, Senese VP. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy is a useful tool for multi-perspective psychobiological study of neurophysiological correlates of parenting behaviour. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:258-284. [PMID: 36485015 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The quality of the relationship between caregiver and child has long-term effects on the cognitive and socio-emotional development of children. A process involved in human parenting is the bio-behavioural synchrony that occurs between the partners in the relationship during interaction. Through interaction, bio-behavioural synchronicity allows the adaptation of the physiological systems of the parent to those of the child and promotes the positive development and modelling of the child's social brain. The role of bio-behavioural synchrony in building social bonds could be investigated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In this paper we have (a) highlighted the importance of the quality of the caregiver-child relationship for the child's cognitive and socio-emotional development, as well as the relevance of infantile stimuli in the activation of parenting behaviour; (b) discussed the tools used in the study of the neurophysiological substrates of the parental response; (c) proposed fNIRS as a particularly suitable tool for the study of parental responses; and (d) underlined the need for a multi-systemic psychobiological approach to understand the mechanisms that regulate caregiver-child interactions and their bio-behavioural synchrony. We propose to adopt a multi-system psychobiological approach to the study of parental behaviour and social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmela Russo
- Psychometric Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Paolo Senese
- Psychometric Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
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26
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Schwartz L, Levy J, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Djalovski A, Hayut O, Dumas G, Feldman R. Technologically-assisted communication attenuates inter-brain synchrony. Neuroimage 2022; 264:119677. [PMID: 36244598 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The transition to technologically-assisted communication has permeated all facets of human social life; yet, its impact on the social brain is still unknown and the effects may be particularly intense during periods of developmental transitions. Applying a two-brain perspective, the current preregistered study utilized hyperscanning EEG to measure brain-to-brain synchrony in 62 mother-child pairs at the transition to adolescence (child age; M = 12.26, range 10-14) during live face-to-face interaction versus technologically-assisted remote communication. The live interaction elicited 9 significant cross-brain links between densely inter-connected frontal and temporal areas in the beta range [14-30 Hz]. Mother's right frontal region connected with the child's right and left frontal, temporal, and central regions, suggesting its regulatory role in organizing the two-brain dynamics. In contrast, the remote interaction elicited only 1 significant cross-brain-cross-hemisphere link, attenuating the robust right-to-right-brain connectivity during live social moments that communicates socio-affective signals. Furthermore, while the level of social behavior was comparable between the two interactions, brain-behavior associations emerged only during the live exchange. Mother-child right temporal-temporal synchrony linked with moments of shared gaze and the degree of child engagement and empathic behavior correlated with right frontal-frontal synchrony. Our findings indicate that human co-presence is underpinned by specific neurobiological processes that should be studied in depth. Much further research is needed to tease apart whether the "Zoom fatigue" experienced during technological communication may stem, in part, from overload on more limited inter-brain connections and to address the potential cost of social technology for brain maturation, particularly among youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linoy Schwartz
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland
| | | | - Amir Djalovski
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Olga Hayut
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology laboratory, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Child Study Center, Yale University, United States.
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27
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Coupling between prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in infants and adults. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101184. [PMID: 36495790 PMCID: PMC9730144 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-regulation is an essential aspect of healthy child development. Even though infants depend on their caregivers for co-regulation during the first years, they begin to gain regulatory abilities through social interactions as well as their own developing agency and inhibitory control. These early regulatory abilities continue to increase with the development of both the prefrontal cortex and the vagal system. Importantly, theoretical accounts have suggested that the prefrontal cortex and the vagal system are linked through forward and backward feedback loops via the limbic system. Decreased coupling within this link is suggested to be associated with psychopathology. The primary goal of this study was to examine whether intrapersonal coupling of prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia is evident in infancy. Using the simultaneous assessment of functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electrocardiography, we used Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis to assess the coupling of prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in 69 4- to 6-month-old infants and their mothers during a passive viewing condition. However, we did not find significant coupling between the PFC and RSA in infants and adult caregivers. Future studies could examine social contexts associated with greater emotional reactivity to deepen our understanding of the pathways involved in self-regulation.
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28
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Liu Y, Li J, Wang Q, Li Y. The specificity, situational modulations, and behavioral correlates of parent-child neural synchrony. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1000826. [PMID: 36438636 PMCID: PMC9682019 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1000826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, aiming to uncover the neural mechanism of parent-child interaction and link it to the children's social development, a newly developed index, namely, parent-child inter-brain neural synchronization (INS) has attracted growing interest. Existing studies have mainly focused on three aspects of the INS; these are the specificity of the INS (i.e., stronger INS for parent-child dyads than stranger-child dyads), the situational modulations of the INS (i.e., how the valence of the situation or the types of interaction modulate INS), and the associations between the INS and the state-like behavioral tendencies or trait-like individual features of the parents and children. This review summarizes the existing findings in line with these three topics and provides preliminary suggestions to promote parent-child INS. In the meanwhile, the inconsistent findings and unstudied questions were discussed, opening new avenues for future studies.
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29
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Interpersonal neural synchrony when predicting others' actions during a game of rock-paper-scissors. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12967. [PMID: 35902663 PMCID: PMC9334613 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16956-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
As members of a social species, we spend most of our time interacting with others. In interactions, we tend to mutually align our behavior and brain responses to communicate more effectively. In a semi-computerized version of the Rock-Paper-Scissors game, we investigated whether people show enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization when making explicit predictions about others' actions. Across four experimental conditions, we measured the dynamic brain activity using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning method. Results showed that interpersonal neural synchrony was enhanced when participants played the game together as they would do in real life in comparison to when they played the game on their own. We found no evidence of increased neural synchrony when participants made explicit predictions about others' actions. Hence, neural synchrony may depend on mutual natural interaction rather than an explicit prediction strategy. This study is important, as it examines one of the presumed functions of neural synchronization namely facilitating predictions.
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30
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Wass SV, Goupil L. Studying the Developing Brain in Real-World Contexts: Moving From Castles in the Air to Castles on the Ground. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:896919. [PMID: 35910339 PMCID: PMC9326302 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.896919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Most current research in cognitive neuroscience uses standardized non-ecological experiments to study the developing brain. But these approaches do a poor job of mimicking the real-world, and thus can only provide a distorted picture of how cognitive operations and brain development unfold outside of the lab. Here we consider future research avenues which may lead to a better appreciation of how developing brains dynamically interact with a complex real-world environment, and how cognition develops over time. We raise several problems faced by current mainstream methods in the field, before briefly reviewing novel promising approaches that alleviate some of these issues. First, we consider research that examines perception by measuring entrainment between brain activity and temporal patterns in naturalistic stimuli. Second, we consider research that examines our ability to parse our continuous experience into discrete events, and how this ability develops over time. Third, we consider the role of children as active agents in selecting what they sample from the environment from one moment to the next. Fourth, we consider new approaches that measure how mutual influences between children and others are instantiated in suprapersonal brain networks. Finally, we discuss how we may reduce adult biases when designing developmental studies. Together, these approaches have great potential to further our understanding of how the developing brain learns to process information, and to control complex real-world behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam V. Wass
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Louise Goupil
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes/CNRS, Grenoble, France
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31
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Scholkmann F, Tachtsidis I, Wolf M, Wolf U. Systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a powerful approach to study the embodied human brain. NEUROPHOTONICS 2022; 9:030801. [PMID: 35832785 PMCID: PMC9272976 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.9.3.030801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
In this Outlook paper, we explain why an accurate physiological interpretation of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging signals is facilitated when systemic physiological activity (e.g., cardiorespiratory and autonomic activity) is measured simultaneously by employing systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy (SPA-fNIRS). The rationale for SPA-fNIRS is twofold: (i) SPA-fNIRS enables a more complete interpretation and understanding of the fNIRS signals measured at the head since they contain components originating from neurovascular coupling and from systemic physiological sources. The systemic physiology signals measured with SPA-fNIRS can be used for regressing out physiological confounding components in fNIRS signals. Misinterpretations can thus be minimized. (ii) SPA-fNIRS enables to study the embodied brain by linking the brain with the physiological state of the entire body, allowing novel insights into their complex interplay. We envisage the SPA-fNIRS approach will become increasingly important in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Scholkmann
- University of Bern, Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
- University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Neonatology Research, Department of Neonatology, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ilias Tachtsidis
- University College London, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, London, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Wolf
- University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Neonatology Research, Department of Neonatology, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ursula Wolf
- University of Bern, Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
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32
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Gerloff C, Konrad K, Bzdok D, Büsing C, Reindl V. Interacting brains revisited: A cross-brain network neuroscience perspective. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4458-4474. [PMID: 35661477 PMCID: PMC9435014 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Elucidating the neural basis of social behavior is a long‐standing challenge in neuroscience. Such endeavors are driven by attempts to extend the isolated perspective on the human brain by considering interacting persons' brain activities, but a theoretical and computational framework for this purpose is still in its infancy. Here, we posit a comprehensive framework based on bipartite graphs for interbrain networks and address whether they provide meaningful insights into the neural underpinnings of social interactions. First, we show that the nodal density of such graphs exhibits nonrandom properties. While the current hyperscanning analyses mostly rely on global metrics, we encode the regions' roles via matrix decomposition to obtain an interpretable network representation yielding both global and local insights. With Bayesian modeling, we reveal how synchrony patterns seeded in specific brain regions contribute to global effects. Beyond inferential inquiries, we demonstrate that graph representations can be used to predict individual social characteristics, outperforming functional connectivity estimators for this purpose. In the future, this may provide a means of characterizing individual variations in social behavior or identifying biomarkers for social interaction and disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Gerloff
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Aachen, Germany.,Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Chair II of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Konrad
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Aachen, Germany.,Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Danilo Bzdok
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.,Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Montreal, Canada
| | - Christina Büsing
- Chair II of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reindl
- JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, Aachen, Germany.,Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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