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Bolt NK, Loehr JD. Motor-related cortical oscillations distinguish one's own from a partner's contributions to a joint action. Biol Psychol 2024; 190:108804. [PMID: 38670429 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108804] [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: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The ability to distinguish between one's own and others' actions is a requirement for successful joint action. Such a distinction might be supported by dissociable motor activity underlying each partner's individual contributions to the joint action. However, little research has directly compared motor activity associated with one's own vs. others' actions during joint action. The current study investigated whether motor-related cortical oscillations distinguish between self- and partner-produced actions when partners take turns producing taps to meet a joint timing goal. Across two experiments, the degree of beta suppression differentiated one's own from a partner's actions, with more suppression occurring during one's own actions than during a partner's actions. Self-partner differences in mu suppression were also evident, particularly when partners produced actions in succession. Increased beta suppression was also observed during partners' actions when they were followed by one's own actions, suggesting that the coordination demands imposed by the joint action could affect the pattern of beta reactivity during a turn-taking joint action. Together, these findings demonstrate that dynamic patterns of motor activity underpin successful joint action and that periods of distinct motor activity are associated with one's own contributions to a joint action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole K Bolt
- Department of Psychology and Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
| | - Janeen D Loehr
- Department of Psychology and Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
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2
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Todd NPM, Govender S, Keller PE, Colebatch JG. Electrophysiological Activity from the Eye Muscles, Cerebellum and Cerebrum During Reflexive (Classical Pavlovian) Versus Voluntary (Ivanov-Smolensky) Eye-Blink Conditioning. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 23:1086-1100. [PMID: 37840094 PMCID: PMC11102391 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01613-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
We report an experiment to investigate the role of the cerebellum and cerebrum in motor learning of timed movements. Eleven healthy human subjects were recruited to perform two experiments, the first was a classical eye-blink conditioning procedure with an auditory tone as conditional stimulus (CS) and vestibular unconditional stimulus (US) in the form of a double head-tap. In the second experiment, subjects were asked to blink voluntarily in synchrony with the double head-tap US preceded by a CS, a form of Ivanov-Smolensky conditioning in which a command or instruction is associated with the US. Electrophysiological recordings were made of extra-ocular EMG and EOG at infra-ocular sites (IO1/2), EEG from over the frontal eye fields (C3'/C4') and from over the posterior fossa over the cerebellum for the electrocerebellogram (ECeG). The behavioural outcomes of the experiments showed weak reflexive conditioning for the first experiment despite the double tap but robust, well-synchronised voluntary conditioning for the second. Voluntary conditioned blinks were larger than the reflex ones. For the voluntary conditioning experiment, a contingent negative variation (CNV) was also present in the EEG leads prior to movement, and modulation of the high-frequency EEG occurred during movement. US-related cerebellar activity was prominent in the high-frequency ECeG for both experiments, while conditioned response-related cerebellar activity was additionally present in the voluntary conditioning experiment. These results demonstrate a role for the cerebellum in voluntary (Ivanov-Smolensky) as well as in reflexive (classical Pavlovian) conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil P M Todd
- UNSW Clinical School, Randwick Campus, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QC, UK.
| | - Sendhil Govender
- Neuroscience Research Australia, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Peter E Keller
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University Penrith, Kingswood, NSW, 2751, Australia
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - James G Colebatch
- UNSW Clinical School, Randwick Campus, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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3
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Grootjans Y, Harrewijn A, Fornari L, Janssen T, de Bruijn ERA, van Atteveldt N, Franken IHA. Getting closer to social interactions using electroencephalography in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 67:101391. [PMID: 38759529 PMCID: PMC11127236 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101391] [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: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The field of developmental cognitive neuroscience is advancing rapidly, with large-scale, population-wide, longitudinal studies emerging as a key means of unraveling the complexity of the developing brain and cognitive processes in children. While numerous neuroscientific techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have proved advantageous in such investigations, this perspective proposes a renewed focus on electroencephalography (EEG), leveraging underexplored possibilities of EEG. In addition to its temporal precision, low costs, and ease of application, EEG distinguishes itself with its ability to capture neural activity linked to social interactions in increasingly ecologically valid settings. Specifically, EEG can be measured during social interactions in the lab, hyperscanning can be used to study brain activity in two (or more) people simultaneously, and mobile EEG can be used to measure brain activity in real-life settings. This perspective paper summarizes research in these three areas, making a persuasive argument for the renewed inclusion of EEG into the toolkit of developmental cognitive and social neuroscientists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvette Grootjans
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laura Fornari
- Department of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology & Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tieme Janssen
- Department of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology & Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Nienke van Atteveldt
- Department of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology & Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ingmar H A Franken
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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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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6
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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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7
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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 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55495-7] [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: 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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8
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Tamburro G, Fiedler P, De Fano A, Raeisi K, Khazaei M, Vaquero L, Bruña R, Oppermann H, Bertollo M, Filho E, Zappasodi F, Comani S. An ecological study protocol for the multimodal investigation of the neurophysiological underpinnings of dyadic joint action. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1305331. [PMID: 38125713 PMCID: PMC10730734 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1305331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A novel multimodal experimental setup and dyadic study protocol were designed to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of joint action through the synchronous acquisition of EEG, ECG, EMG, respiration and kinematic data from two individuals engaged in ecologic and naturalistic cooperative and competitive joint actions involving face-to-face real-time and real-space coordinated full body movements. Such studies are still missing because of difficulties encountered in recording reliable neurophysiological signals during gross body movements, in synchronizing multiple devices, and in defining suitable study protocols. The multimodal experimental setup includes the synchronous recording of EEG, ECG, EMG, respiration and kinematic signals of both individuals via two EEG amplifiers and a motion capture system that are synchronized via a single-board microcomputer and custom Python scripts. EEG is recorded using new dry sports electrode caps. The novel study protocol is designed to best exploit the multimodal data acquisitions. Table tennis is the dyadic motor task: it allows naturalistic and face-to-face interpersonal interactions, free in-time and in-space full body movement coordination, cooperative and competitive joint actions, and two task difficulty levels to mimic changing external conditions. Recording conditions-including minimum table tennis rally duration, sampling rate of kinematic data, total duration of neurophysiological recordings-were defined according to the requirements of a multilevel analytical approach including a neural level (hyperbrain functional connectivity, Graph Theoretical measures and Microstate analysis), a cognitive-behavioral level (integrated analysis of neural and kinematic data), and a social level (extending Network Physiology to neurophysiological data recorded from two interacting individuals). Four practical tests for table tennis skills were defined to select the study population, permitting to skill-match the dyad members and to form two groups of higher and lower skilled dyads to explore the influence of skill level on joint action performance. Psychometric instruments are included to assess personality traits and support interpretation of results. Studying joint action with our proposed protocol can advance the understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms sustaining daily life joint actions and could help defining systems to predict cooperative or competitive behaviors before being overtly expressed, particularly useful in real-life contexts where social behavior is a main feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Tamburro
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Patrique Fiedler
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany
| | - Antonio De Fano
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Khadijeh Raeisi
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mohammad Khazaei
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Lucia Vaquero
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Experimental Pschology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Bruña
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Radiology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, IdISSC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Hannes Oppermann
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany
| | - Maurizio Bertollo
- Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Medicine and Sciences of Aging, “University G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Edson Filho
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Filippo Zappasodi
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Silvia Comani
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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9
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Novembre G, Nguyen T, Bigand F, Tucci V, Papaleo F, Bianco R, Koul A. Sociality and Timing: Correlation or Causation? Comment on 'The evolution of social timing' by Verga L., Kotz S. & Ravignani A. Phys Life Rev 2023; 47:179-181. [PMID: 37924673 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy.
| | - Trinh Nguyen
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Félix Bigand
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Valter Tucci
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behavior, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Francesco Papaleo
- Genetics and Cognition, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Roberta Bianco
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Atesh Koul
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome, Italy
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10
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Lu H, Wang X, Zhang Y, Huang P, Xing C, Zhang M, Zhu X. Increased interbrain synchronization and neural efficiency of the frontal cortex to enhance human coordinative behavior: A combined hyper-tES and fNIRS study. Neuroimage 2023; 282:120385. [PMID: 37832708 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120385] [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: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Coordination is crucial for individuals to achieve common goals; however, the causal relationship between coordination behavior and neural activity has not yet been explored. Interbrain synchronization (IBS) and neural efficiency in cortical areas associated with the mirror neuron system (MNS) are considered two potential brain mechanisms. In the present study, we attempted to clarify how the two mechanisms facilitate coordination using hypertranscranial electrical stimulation (hyper-tES). A total of 124 healthy young adults were randomly divided into three groups (the hyper-tACS, hyper-tDCS and sham groups) and underwent modulation of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Increased IBS of the PFC or neural efficiency of the right IFG (related to the MNS) was accompanied by greater coordination behavior; IBS had longer-lasting effects on behavior. Our findings highlight the importance of IBS and neural efficiency of the frontal cortex for coordination and suggest potential interventions to improve coordination in different temporal windows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongliang Lu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Xinlu Wang
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Yajuan Zhang
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Chen Xing
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China.
| | - Mingming Zhang
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200233, China.
| | - Xia Zhu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China.
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11
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Tan SHJ, Wong JN, Teo WP. Is neuroimaging ready for the classroom? A systematic review of hyperscanning studies in learning. Neuroimage 2023; 281:120367. [PMID: 37689175 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Whether education research can be informed by findings from neuroscience studies has been hotly debated since Bruer's (1997) famous claim that neuroscience and education are "a bridge too far". However, this claim came before recent advancements in portable electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technologies, and second-person neuroscience techniques that brought about significant headway in understanding instructor-learner interactions in the classroom. To explore whether neuroscience and education are still two very separate fields, we systematically review 15 hyperscanning studies that were conducted in real-world classrooms or that implemented a teaching-learning task to investigate instructor-learner dynamics. Findings from this investigation illustrate that inter-brain synchrony between instructor and learner is an additional and valuable dimension to understand the complex web of instructor- and learner-related variables that influence learning. Importantly, these findings demonstrate the possibility of conducting real-world classroom studies with portable neuroimaging techniques and highlight the potential of such studies in providing translatable real-world implications. Once thought of as incompatible, a successful coupling between neuroscience and education is now within sight.
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Affiliation(s)
- S H Jessica Tan
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
| | - Jin Nen Wong
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Wei-Peng Teo
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Physical Education and Sport Science Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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12
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Lu H, Xing C, Huang P, Zhang M, Zhu X. Enhancing human cooperative behavior: A new perspective on treatment for social dysfunction. Asian J Psychiatr 2023; 89:103786. [PMID: 37797353 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hongliang Lu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Chen Xing
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China.
| | - Mingming Zhang
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200233, China.
| | - Xia Zhu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi 'an 710032, China.
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13
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Liu J, Zhang R, Xie E, Lin Y, Chen D, Liu Y, Li K, Chen M, Li Y, Wang G, Li X. Shared intentionality modulates interpersonal neural synchronization at the establishment of communication system. Commun Biol 2023; 6:832. [PMID: 37563301 PMCID: PMC10415255 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05197-z] [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: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Whether and how shared intentionality (SI) influences the establishment of a novel interpersonal communication system is poorly understood. To investigate this issue, we designed a coordinating symbolic communication game (CSCG) and applied behavioral, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning, and hyper-transcranial alternating current stimulation (hyper-tACS) methods. Here we show that SI is a strong contributor to communicative accuracy. Moreover, SI, communicative accuracy, and interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in the right superior temporal gyrus (rSTG) are higher when dyads successfully establish a novel communication system. Furthermore, the SI influences communicative accuracy by increasing INS. Additionally, using time series and long short-term memory neural network analyses, we find that the INS can predict communicative accuracy at the early formation stage of the communication system. Importantly, the INS partially mediates the relationship between the SI and the communicative accuracy only at the formation stage of the communication system. In contrast, when the communication system is established, SI and INS no longer contribute to communicative accuracy. Finally, the hyper-tACS experiment confirms that INS has a causal effect on communicative accuracy. These findings suggest a behavioral and neural mechanism, subserved by the SI and INS, that underlies the establishment of a novel interpersonal communication system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jieqiong Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Paediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruqian Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Enhui Xie
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yixuan Lin
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Danni Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mei Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yangzhuo Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guanghai Wang
- Paediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Xianchun Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
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14
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Vicente U, Ara A, Marco-Pallarés J. Intra- and inter-brain synchrony oscillations underlying social adjustment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11211. [PMID: 37433866 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38292-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans naturally synchronize their behavior with other people. However, although it happens almost automatically, adjusting behavior and conformity to others is a complex phenomenon whose neural mechanisms are still yet to be understood entirely. The present experiment aimed to study the oscillatory synchronization mechanisms underlying automatic dyadic convergence in an EEG hyperscanning experiment. Thirty-six people performed a cooperative decision-making task where dyads had to guess the correct position of a point on a line. A reinforcement learning algorithm was used to model different aspects of the participants' behavior and their expectations of their peers. Intra- and inter-connectivity among electrode sites were assessed using inter-site phase clustering in three main frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta) using a two-level Bayesian mixed-effects modeling approach. The results showed two oscillatory synchronization dynamics related to attention and executive functions in alpha and reinforcement learning in theta. In addition, inter-brain synchrony was mainly driven by beta oscillations. This study contributes preliminary evidence on the phase-coherence mechanism underlying inter-personal behavioral adjustment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unai Vicente
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08035, Barcelona, Spain.
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, 08907, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
| | - Alberto Ara
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, H3A 2B4, Montreal, Canada
- BRAMS: International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, H3C 3J7, Montreal, Canada
| | - Josep Marco-Pallarés
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08035, Barcelona, Spain.
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, 08907, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
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15
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Koul A, Ahmar D, Iannetti GD, Novembre G. Spontaneous dyadic behaviour predicts the emergence of interpersonal neural synchrony. Neuroimage 2023:120233. [PMID: 37348621 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Synchronization of neural activity across brains - interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) - is emerging as a powerful marker of social interaction that predicts success of multi-person coordination, communication, and cooperation. As the origins of INS are poorly understood, we tested whether and how INS might emerge from spontaneous dyadic behavior. We recorded neural activity (EEG) and human behavior (full-body kinematics, eye movements and facial expressions) while dyads of participants were instructed to look at each other without speaking or making co-verbal gestures. We made four fundamental observations. First, despite the absence of a structured social task, INS emerged spontaneously only when participants were able to see each other. Second, we show that such spontaneous INS, comprising specific spectral and topographic profiles, did not merely reflect intra-personal modulations of neural activity, but it rather reflected real-time and dyad-specific coupling of neural activities. Third, using state-of-art video-image processing and deep learning, we extracted the temporal unfolding of three notable social behavioral cues - body movement, eye contact, and smiling - and demonstrated that these behaviors also spontaneously synchronized within dyads. Fourth, we probed the correlates of INS in such synchronized social behaviors. Using cross-correlation and Granger causality analyses, we show that synchronized social behaviors anticipate and in fact Granger cause INS. These results provide proof-of-concept evidence for studying interpersonal neural and behavioral synchrony under natural and unconstrained conditions. Most importantly, the results suggest that INS could be conceptualized as an emergent property of two coupled neural systems: an entrainment phenomenon, promoted by real-time dyadic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atesh Koul
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Viale Regina Elena 291, Rome, Italy.
| | - Davide Ahmar
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Viale Regina Elena 291, Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Domenico Iannetti
- Neuroscience and Behavior Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Viale Regina Elena 291, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), WC1E 6BT, London, UK
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Viale Regina Elena 291, Rome, Italy.
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16
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Fiveash A, Ferreri L, Bouwer FL, Kösem A, Moghimi S, Ravignani A, Keller PE, Tillmann B. Can rhythm-mediated reward boost learning, memory, and social connection? Perspectives for future research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105153. [PMID: 37019245 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
Studies of rhythm processing and of reward have progressed separately, with little connection between the two. However, consistent links between rhythm and reward are beginning to surface, with research suggesting that synchronization to rhythm is rewarding, and that this rewarding element may in turn also boost this synchronization. The current mini review shows that the combined study of rhythm and reward can be beneficial to better understand their independent and combined roles across two central aspects of cognition: 1) learning and memory, and 2) social connection and interpersonal synchronization; which have so far been studied largely independently. From this basis, it is discussed how connections between rhythm and reward can be applied to learning and memory and social connection across different populations, taking into account individual differences, clinical populations, human development, and animal research. Future research will need to consider the rewarding nature of rhythm, and that rhythm can in turn boost reward, potentially enhancing other cognitive and social processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Fiveash
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France; University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - L Ferreri
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - F L Bouwer
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A Kösem
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France
| | - S Moghimi
- Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, INSERM U1105, Amiens, France
| | - A Ravignani
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - P E Keller
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - B Tillmann
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France; University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France; Laboratory for Research on Learning and Development, LEAD - CNRS UMR5022, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France
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17
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Takeuchi N. Pain control based on oscillatory brain activity using transcranial alternating current stimulation: An integrative review. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:941979. [PMID: 36742359 PMCID: PMC9892942 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.941979] [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: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Developing effective tools and strategies to relieve chronic pain is a high-priority scientific and clinical goal. In particular, the brain regions related to pain processing have been investigated as potential targets to relieve pain by non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS). In addition to elucidating the relationship between pain and oscillatory brain activity, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which can non-invasively entrain oscillatory brain activity and modulate oscillatory brain communication, has attracted scientific attention as a possible technique to control pain. This review focuses on the use of tACS to relieve pain through the manipulation of oscillatory brain activity and its potential clinical applications. Several studies have reported that tACS on a single brain reduces pain by normalizing abnormal oscillatory brain activity in patients with chronic pain. Interpersonal tACS approaches based on inter-brain synchrony to manipulate inter-brain communication may result in pain relief via prosocial effects. Pain is encoded by the spatiotemporal neural communication that represents the integration of cognitive, emotional-affective, and sensorimotor aspects of pain. Therefore, future studies should seek to identify the pathological oscillatory brain communication in chronic pain as a therapeutic target for tACS. In conclusion, tACS could be effective for re-establishing oscillatory brain activity and assisting social interaction, and it might help develop novel approaches for pain control.
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18
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Long Y, Zhong M, Aili R, Zhang H, Fang X, Lu C. Transcranial direct current stimulation of the right anterior temporal lobe changes interpersonal neural synchronization and shared mental processes. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:28-39. [PMID: 36572209 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2022.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) is a ubiquitous phenomenon between individuals, and recent studies have further demonstrated close associations between INS and shared external sensorimotor input and/or internal mental processes within a dyad. However, most previous studies have employed an observational approach to describe the behavior-INS correlation, leading to difficulties in causally disentangling the relationship among INS, external sensorimotor input and the internal mental process. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS The present study aimed to directly change the level of INS through anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to test whether the change in INS would directly impact the internal mental process (Hypothesis 1) or indirectly through external sensorimotor input; the interaction behaviors were also changed (Hypothesis 2) or not (Hypothesis 3). METHODS Thirty pairs of romantically involved heterosexual couples were recruited for a within-subjects design. Three conditions were assessed: a true stimulation condition with 20-min anodal high-definition tDCS to the right anterior temporal lobe (rATL) of women before they communicated with their partners, a sham stimulation condition and a control brain region stimulation condition. The comparison between the true and sham or control brain region conditions allows us to detect the true effect of brain stimulation on INS. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning was used to simultaneously collect dyadic participants' hemodynamic signals during communication. INS, empathy, and interaction behaviors were examined and compared among different stimulation conditions. RESULTS True brain stimulation significantly decreased INS between the rATL of the women and sensorimotor cortex (SMC) of the men compared to the sham stimulation condition (t(27.8) = -2.821, P = 0.009, d = 0.714) and control brain region stimulation condition (t(27.2) = -2.606, P = 0.015, d = 0.664) during communication. It also significantly decreased the level of emotional empathy (F(2,145) = 6.893, P = 0.001) but did not change sensorimotor processes, such as verbal or nonverbal interaction behaviors. However, nonverbal behaviors mediated the relationship between the changes in INS and emotional empathy (lower limit confidence interval = 0.01, upper limit confidence interval = 2.66). CONCLUSION(S) These findings support the third hypothesis, suggesting that INS is associated with the shared internal mental process indirectly via the sensorimotor process, but the sensorimotor process itself does not covary with the INS and the associated internal mental process. These results provide new insight into the hierarchical architecture of dual-brain function from a bottom-up perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhang Long
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Miao Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Ruhuiya Aili
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Huan Zhang
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Xiaoyi Fang
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
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19
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Wang LS, Cheng JT, Hsu IJ, Liou S, Kung CC, Chen DY, Weng MH. Distinct cerebral coherence in task-based fMRI hyperscanning: cooperation versus competition. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:421-433. [PMID: 35266996 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
This study features an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) hyperscanning experiment from 2 sites, 305 km apart. The experiment contains 2 conditions: the dyad collaborated to win and then split the reward in the cooperation condition, whereas the winner took all the reward in the competition condition, thereby resulting in dynamic strategic interactions. To calculate the cerebral coherence in such jittered event-related fMRI tasks, we first iteratively estimated the feedback-related blood oxygenation level-dependent responses of each trial, using 8 finite impulse response functions (16 s) and then concatenated the beta volume series. With the right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ) as the seed, the interpersonal connected brain areas were separately identified: the right superior temporal gyrus (rSTG) (cooperation) and the left precuneus (lPrecuneus) (competition), both peaking at the designated frequency bin (1/16 s = 0.0625 Hz), but not in permuted pairs. In addition, the extended coherence analyses on shorter and longer concatenated volumes verified that only in the optimal trial frequency did the rTPJ-rSTG and rTPJ-lPrecuneus couplings peak. In sum, our approach both showcases a flexible analysis method that widens the applicability of interpersonal coherence in the rapid event-related fMRI hyperscanning and reveals a context-based inter-brain coupling between interacting pairs during cooperation and during competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le-Si Wang
- Institute of Creative Industries Design, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Jen-Tang Cheng
- Department of Economics, NCKU, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - I-Jeng Hsu
- Department of Economics, NCKU, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Shyhnan Liou
- Institute of Creative Industries Design, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Chia Kung
- Department of Psychology, NCKU, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan.,Mind Research and Imaging (MRI) Center, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Der-Yow Chen
- Department of Psychology, NCKU, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan.,Mind Research and Imaging (MRI) Center, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hung Weng
- Department of Economics, NCKU, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
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20
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Lin JFL, Imada T, Meltzoff AN, Hiraishi H, Ikeda T, Takahashi T, Hasegawa C, Yoshimura Y, Kikuchi M, Hirata M, Minabe Y, Asada M, Kuhl PK. Dual-MEG interbrain synchronization during turn-taking verbal interactions between mothers and children. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4116-4134. [PMID: 36130088 PMCID: PMC10068303 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac330] [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: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Verbal interaction and imitation are essential for language learning and development in young children. However, it is unclear how mother-child dyads synchronize oscillatory neural activity at the cortical level in turn-based speech interactions. Our study investigated interbrain synchrony in mother-child pairs during a turn-taking paradigm of verbal imitation. A dual-MEG (magnetoencephalography) setup was used to measure brain activity from interactive mother-child pairs simultaneously. Interpersonal neural synchronization was compared between socially interactive and noninteractive tasks (passive listening to pure tones). Interbrain networks showed increased synchronization during the socially interactive compared to noninteractive conditions in the theta and alpha bands. Enhanced interpersonal brain synchrony was observed in the right angular gyrus, right triangular, and left opercular parts of the inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, these parietal and frontal regions appear to be the cortical hubs exhibiting a high number of interbrain connections. These cortical areas could serve as a neural marker for the interactive component in verbal social communication. The present study is the first to investigate mother-child interbrain neural synchronization during verbal social interactions using a dual-MEG setup. Our results advance our understanding of turn-taking during verbal interaction between mother-child dyads and suggest a role for social "gating" in language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo-Fu Lotus Lin
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan.,Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan
| | - Toshiaki Imada
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Andrew N Meltzoff
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Hirotoshi Hiraishi
- Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1 Chome-20-1 Handayama, Higashi Ward, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan
| | - Takashi Ikeda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | | | - Chiaki Hasegawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Masayuki Hirata
- Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Medical School, 2 Chome-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoshio Minabe
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa-City, Ishikawa-Ken 920-8640, Japan
| | - Minoru Asada
- Department of Adaptive Machine Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Patricia K Kuhl
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), University of Washington, Portage Bay Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
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21
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Gugnowska K, Novembre G, Kohler N, Villringer A, Keller PE, Sammler D. Endogenous sources of interbrain synchrony in duetting pianists. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4110-4127. [PMID: 35029645 PMCID: PMC9476614 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
When people interact with each other, their brains synchronize. However, it remains unclear whether interbrain synchrony (IBS) is functionally relevant for social interaction or stems from exposure of individual brains to identical sensorimotor information. To disentangle these views, the current dual-EEG study investigated amplitude-based IBS in pianists jointly performing duets containing a silent pause followed by a tempo change. First, we manipulated the similarity of the anticipated tempo change and measured IBS during the pause, hence, capturing the alignment of purely endogenous, temporal plans without sound or movement. Notably, right posterior gamma IBS was higher when partners planned similar tempi, it predicted whether partners' tempi matched after the pause, and it was modulated only in real, not in surrogate pairs. Second, we manipulated the familiarity with the partner's actions and measured IBS during joint performance with sound. Although sensorimotor information was similar across conditions, gamma IBS was higher when partners were unfamiliar with each other's part and had to attend more closely to the sound of the performance. These combined findings demonstrate that IBS is not merely an epiphenomenon of shared sensorimotor information but can also hinge on endogenous, cognitive processes crucial for behavioral synchrony and successful social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Gugnowska
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome 00161, Italy
| | - Natalie Kohler
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Peter E Keller
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW 2751, Australia
| | - Daniela Sammler
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany
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22
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Sened H, Zilcha-Mano S, Shamay-Tsoory S. Inter-brain plasticity as a biological mechanism of change in psychotherapy: A review and integrative model. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:955238. [PMID: 36092652 PMCID: PMC9458846 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.955238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent models of psychopathology and psychotherapy highlight the importance of interpersonal factors. The current review offers a biological perspective on these interpersonal processes by examining inter-brain synchrony—the coupling of brain activity between people interacting with one another. High inter-brain synchrony is associated with better relationships in therapy and in daily life, while deficits in the ability to achieve inter-brain synchrony are associated with a variety of psychological and developmental disorders. The review suggests that therapy improves patients’ ability to achieve such synchrony through inter-brain plasticity—a process by which recurring exposure to high inter-brain synchrony leads to lasting change in a person’s overall ability to synchronize. Therapeutic sessions provide repeated situations with high inter-brain synchrony. This can lead to a long-term increase in the ability to synchronize, first with the therapist, then generalized to other interpersonal relationships, ultimately leading to symptom reduction. The proposed inter-brain plasticity model offers a novel biological framework for understanding relational change in psychotherapy and its links to various forms of psychopathology and provides testable hypotheses for future research. Understanding this mechanism may help improve existing psychotherapy methods and develop new ones.
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23
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Lu H, Zhang Y, Huang P, Zhang Y, Cheng S, Zhu X. Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Offers the Possibility of Improving Teamwork Among Military Pilots: A Review. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:931265. [PMID: 35911997 PMCID: PMC9327643 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.931265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective teamwork among military pilots is key to successful mission completion. The underlying neural mechanism of teamwork is thought to be inter-brain synchronization (IBS). IBS could also be explained as an incidental phenomenon of cooperative behavior, but the causality between IBS and cooperative behavior could be clarified by directly producing IBS through extra external stimuli applied to functional brain regions. As a non-invasive technology for altering brain function, transcranial electrical stimulation might have the potential to explore whether top-down enhancement of the synchronization of multiple brains can change cooperative behavioral performance among members of a team. This review focuses on the characteristic features of teamwork among military pilots and variations in neuroimaging obtained by hyper-scanning. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility that transcranial electrical stimulation could be used to improve teamwork among military pilots, try to provide a feasible design for doing so, and emphasize crucial aspects to be addressed by future research.
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24
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Wikström V, Saarikivi K, Falcon M, Makkonen T, Martikainen S, Putkinen V, Cowley BU, Tervaniemi M. Inter-brain synchronization occurs without physical co-presence during cooperative online gaming. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108316. [PMID: 35810882 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction has been linked with several positive phenomena, including closeness, cooperation, prosociality, and team performance. However, the temporal dynamics of inter-brain synchronization during collaboration are not yet fully understood. Furthermore, with collaboration increasingly happening online, the dependence of inter-brain phase synchronization of oscillatory activity on physical presence is an important but understudied question. In this study, physically isolated participants performed a collaborative coordination task in the form of a cooperative multiplayer game. We measured EEG from 42 subjects working together as pairs in the task. During the measurement, the only interaction between the participants happened through on-screen movement of a racing car, controlled by button presses of both participants working with distinct roles, either controlling the speed or the direction of the car. Pairs working together in the task were found to have elevated neural coupling in the alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands, compared to performance matched false pairs. Higher gamma synchrony was associated with better momentary performance within dyads and higher alpha synchrony was associated with better mean performance across dyads. These results are in line with previous findings of increased inter-brain synchrony during interaction, and show that phase synchronization of oscillatory activity occurs during online real-time joint coordination without any physical co-presence or video and audio connection. Synchrony decreased during a playing session, but was found to be higher during the second session compared to the first. The novel paradigm, developed for the measurement of real-time collaborative performance, demonstrates that changes in inter-brain EEG phase synchrony can be observed continuously during interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valtteri Wikström
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.
| | - Katri Saarikivi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Mari Falcon
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Tommi Makkonen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Silja Martikainen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Vesa Putkinen
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, P.O. Box 52, Turku, 20521, Finland; Turku University Hospital, P.O. Box 52, Turku, 20521, Finland
| | - Benjamin Ultan Cowley
- Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Cognitive Science, Department of Digital Humanities, Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 24, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Mari Tervaniemi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Helsinki, 00014, Finland; Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
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25
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Nazneen T, Islam IB, Sajal MSR, Jamal W, Amin MA, Vaidyanathan R, Chau T, Mamun KA. Recent Trends in Non-invasive Neural Recording Based Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Analysis on Multidisciplinary Human Interactions for Understanding Brain Dynamics: A Systematic Review. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:875282. [PMID: 35782087 PMCID: PMC9245014 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.875282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of brain-to-brain synchrony has a burgeoning application in the brain-computer interface (BCI) research, offering valuable insights into the neural underpinnings of interacting human brains using numerous neural recording technologies. The area allows exploring the commonality of brain dynamics by evaluating the neural synchronization among a group of people performing a specified task. The growing number of publications on brain-to-brain synchrony inspired the authors to conduct a systematic review using the PRISMA protocol so that future researchers can get a comprehensive understanding of the paradigms, methodologies, translational algorithms, and challenges in the area of brain-to-brain synchrony research. This review has gone through a systematic search with a specified search string and selected some articles based on pre-specified eligibility criteria. The findings from the review revealed that most of the articles have followed the social psychology paradigm, while 36% of the selected studies have an application in cognitive neuroscience. The most applied approach to determine neural connectivity is a coherence measure utilizing phase-locking value (PLV) in the EEG studies, followed by wavelet transform coherence (WTC) in all of the fNIRS studies. While most of the experiments have control experiments as a part of their setup, a small number implemented algorithmic control, and only one study had interventional or a stimulus-induced control experiment to limit spurious synchronization. Hence, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this systematic review solely contributes to critically evaluating the scopes and technological advances of brain-to-brain synchrony to allow this discipline to produce more effective research outcomes in the remote future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahnia Nazneen
- Advanced Intelligent Multidisciplinary Systems Lab, Institute of Advanced Research, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Iffath Binta Islam
- Advanced Intelligent Multidisciplinary Systems Lab, Institute of Advanced Research, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Sakibur Rahman Sajal
- Advanced Intelligent Multidisciplinary Systems Lab, Institute of Advanced Research, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | | | - M. Ashraful Amin
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Independent University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Ravi Vaidyanathan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tom Chau
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Khondaker A. Mamun
- Advanced Intelligent Multidisciplinary Systems Lab, Institute of Advanced Research, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- *Correspondence: Khondaker A. Mamun
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26
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Bowsher-Murray C, Gerson S, von dem Hagen E, Jones CRG. The Components of Interpersonal Synchrony in the Typical Population and in Autism: A Conceptual Analysis. Front Psychol 2022; 13:897015. [PMID: 35734455 PMCID: PMC9208202 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897015] [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: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal synchrony – the tendency for social partners to temporally co-ordinate their behaviour when interacting – is a ubiquitous feature of social interactions. Synchronous interactions play a key role in development, and promote social bonding and a range of pro-social behavioural outcomes across the lifespan. The process of achieving and maintaining interpersonal synchrony is highly complex, with inputs required from across perceptual, temporal, motor, and socio-cognitive domains. In this conceptual analysis, we synthesise evidence from across these domains to establish the key components underpinning successful non-verbal interpersonal synchrony, how such processes interact, and factors that may moderate their operation. We also consider emerging evidence that interpersonal synchrony is reduced in autistic populations. We use our account of the components contributing to interpersonal synchrony in the typical population to identify potential points of divergence in interpersonal synchrony in autism. The relationship between interpersonal synchrony and broader aspects of social communication in autism are also considered, together with implications for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Bowsher-Murray
- Wales Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Claire Bowsher-Murray,
| | - Sarah Gerson
- Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Elisabeth von dem Hagen
- Wales Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Brain Imaging Research Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine R. G. Jones
- Wales Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Catherine R. G. Jones,
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27
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Rosso M, Heggli OA, Maes PJ, Vuust P, Leman M. Mutual beta power modulation in dyadic entrainment. Neuroimage 2022; 257:119326. [PMID: 35667334 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119326] [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: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Across a broad spectrum of interactions, humans exhibit a prominent tendency to synchronize their movements with one another. Traditionally, this phenomenon has been explained from the perspectives of predictive coding or dynamical systems theory. While these theories diverge with respect to whether individuals hold internal models of each other, they both assume a predictive or anticipatory mechanism enabling rhythmic interactions. However, the neural bases underpinning interpersonal synchronization are still a subject under active investigation. Here we provide evidence that the brain relies on a common oscillatory mechanism to pace self-generated rhythmic movements and to track the movements produced by a partner. By performing dual-electroencephalography recordings during a joint finger-tapping task, we identified an oscillatory component in the beta range (∼ 20 Hz), which was significantly modulated by both self-generated and other-generated movement. In conditions where the partners perceived each other, we observed periodic fluctuations of beta power as a function of the reciprocal movement cycles. Crucially, this modulation occurred both in visually and in auditorily coupled conditions, and was accompanied by recurrent periods of dyadic synchronized behavior. Our results show that periodic beta power modulations may be a critical mechanism underlying interpersonal synchronization, possibly enabling mutual predictions between coupled individuals, leading to co-regulation of timing and overt mutual adaptation. Our findings thus provide a potential bridge between influential theories attempting to explain interpersonal coordination, and a concrete connection to its neurophysiological bases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Rosso
- IPEM Institute for Systematic Musicology - Ghent University, Miriam Makebaplein 1, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
| | - Ole A Heggli
- Center for Music in the Brain - Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3 - Building 1710, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Pieter J Maes
- IPEM Institute for Systematic Musicology - Ghent University, Miriam Makebaplein 1, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain - Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3 - Building 1710, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Marc Leman
- IPEM Institute for Systematic Musicology - Ghent University, Miriam Makebaplein 1, Ghent 9000, Belgium
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28
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Müller V. Neural Synchrony and Network Dynamics in Social Interaction: A Hyper-Brain Cell Assembly Hypothesis. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:848026. [PMID: 35572007 PMCID: PMC9101304 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.848026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting neurophysiological evidence suggests that interpersonal interaction relies on continual communication between cell assemblies within interacting brains and continual adjustments of these neuronal dynamic states between the brains. In this Hypothesis and Theory article, a Hyper-Brain Cell Assembly Hypothesis is suggested on the basis of a conceptual review of neural synchrony and network dynamics and their roles in emerging cell assemblies within the interacting brains. The proposed hypothesis states that such cell assemblies can emerge not only within, but also between the interacting brains. More precisely, the hyper-brain cell assembly encompasses and integrates oscillatory activity within and between brains, and represents a common hyper-brain unit, which has a certain relation to social behavior and interaction. Hyper-brain modules or communities, comprising nodes across two or several brains, are considered as one of the possible representations of the hypothesized hyper-brain cell assemblies, which can also have a multidimensional or multilayer structure. It is concluded that the neuronal dynamics during interpersonal interaction is brain-wide, i.e., it is based on common neuronal activity of several brains or, more generally, of the coupled physiological systems including brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Müller
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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29
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Kurihara Y, Takahashi T, Osu R. The relationship between stability of interpersonal coordination and inter-brain EEG synchronization during anti-phase tapping. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6164. [PMID: 35418655 PMCID: PMC9008014 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10049-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Inter-brain synchronization is enhanced when individuals perform rhythmic interpersonal coordination tasks, such as playing instruments in music ensembles. Experimentally, synchronization has been shown to correlate with the performance of joint tapping tasks. However, it is unclear whether inter-brain synchronization is related to the stability of interpersonal coordination represented as the standard deviation of relative phase (SDRP). In this study, we simultaneously recorded electroencephalograms of two paired individuals during anti-phase tapping in three interactive tapping conditions: slow (reference inter-tap interval [ITI]: 0.5 s), fast (reference ITI: 0.25 s), and free (preferred ITI), and pseudo tapping where each participant tapped according to the metronome sounds without interaction. We calculated the inter-brain synchronization between pairs of six regions of interest (ROI): frontal, central, left/right temporal, parietal, and occipital regions. During the fast tapping, the inter-brain synchronization significantly increased in multiple ROI pairs including temporoparietal junction in comparison to pseudo tapping. Synchronization between the central and left-temporal regions was positively correlated with SDRP in the theta in the fast condition. These results demonstrate that inter-brain synchronization occurs when task requirements are high and increases with the instability of the coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Kurihara
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
| | - Toru Takahashi
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
| | - Rieko Osu
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.
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30
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Vuust P, Heggli OA, Friston KJ, Kringelbach ML. Music in the brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:287-305. [PMID: 35352057 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00578-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Music is ubiquitous across human cultures - as a source of affective and pleasurable experience, moving us both physically and emotionally - and learning to play music shapes both brain structure and brain function. Music processing in the brain - namely, the perception of melody, harmony and rhythm - has traditionally been studied as an auditory phenomenon using passive listening paradigms. However, when listening to music, we actively generate predictions about what is likely to happen next. This enactive aspect has led to a more comprehensive understanding of music processing involving brain structures implicated in action, emotion and learning. Here we review the cognitive neuroscience literature of music perception. We show that music perception, action, emotion and learning all rest on the human brain's fundamental capacity for prediction - as formulated by the predictive coding of music model. This Review elucidates how this formulation of music perception and expertise in individuals can be extended to account for the dynamics and underlying brain mechanisms of collective music making. This in turn has important implications for human creativity as evinced by music improvisation. These recent advances shed new light on what makes music meaningful from a neuroscientific perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Ole A Heggli
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium), Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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31
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Chen D, Zhang R, Liu J, Wang P, Bei L, Liu C, Li X. Gamma‐band neural coupling during conceptual alignment. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:2992-3006. [PMID: 35285571 PMCID: PMC9120565 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Conceptual alignment is a prerequisite for mutual understanding. However, little is known about the neurophysiological brain‐to‐brain underpinning during conceptual alignment for mutual understanding. Here, we recorded multi‐channel electroencephalogram (EEG) simultaneously from two participants in Experiment 1 and adopted the dual‐tACS techniques in Experiment 2 to investigate the underlying brain‐to‐brain EEG coupling during conceptual alignment and the possible enhancement effect. Our results showed that 1) higher phase‐locking value (PLV), a sensitive measure for quantifying neural coupling strength between EEG signals, at the gamma frequency band (28–40 Hz), was observed in the left temporoparietal site (left TP) area between successful versus unsuccessful conceptual alignment. The left TP gamma coupling strength correlated with the accuracy of conceptual alignment and differentiated whether subjects belonged to the SUCCESS or FAILURE groups in our study. 2) In‐phase gamma‐band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over the left TP area increased the accuracy of subjects in the SUCCESS group but not the FAILURE group. 3) The effect of perspective‐taking on the accuracy was mediated by the gamma coupling strength within the left TP area. Our results support the role of gamma‐band coupling between brains for interpersonal conceptual alignment. We provide dynamic interpersonal neurophysiological insights into the formation of successful communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danni Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Ruqian Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Jieqiong Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Pu Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine The Seventh Hospital of Sun Yat‐sen University Shenzhen China
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine and Clinical Translation Guangzhou China
| | - Litian Bei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Chang‐Chia Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery University of Virginia School of Medicine Charlottesville USA
| | - Xianchun Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science East China Normal University Shanghai China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center Shanghai China
- Institute of Wisdom in China East China Normal University Shanghai China
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32
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Scanlon JEM, Jacobsen NSJ, Maack MC, Debener S. Stepping in time: Alpha-mu and beta oscillations during a walking synchronization task. Neuroimage 2022; 253:119099. [PMID: 35301131 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal behavioral synchrony is referred to as temporal coordination of action between two or more individuals. Humans tend to synchronize their movements during repetitive movement tasks such as walking. Mobile EEG technology now allows us to examine how this happens during gait. 18 participants equipped with foot accelerometers and mobile EEG walked with an experimenter in three conditions: With their view of the experimenter blocked, walking naturally, and trying to synchronize their steps with the experimenter. The experimenter walked following a headphone metronome to keep their steps consistent for all conditions. Step behavior and synchronization between the experimenter and participant were compared between conditions. Additionally, event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) were time-warped to the gait cycle in order to analyze alpha-mu (7.5-12.5 Hz) and beta (16-32 Hz) rhythms over the whole gait cycle. Step synchronization was significantly higher in the synchrony condition than in the natural condition. Likewise regarding ERSPs, right parietal channel (C4, C6, CP4, CP6) alpha-mu and central channel (C1, Cz, C2) beta power were suppressed from baseline in the walking synchrony condition compared to the natural walking condition. The natural and blocked conditions were not found to be significantly different in behavioral or spectral comparisons. Our results are compatible with the view that intentional synchronization employs systems associated with social interaction as well as the central motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E M Scanlon
- Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
| | - N S J Jacobsen
- Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - M C Maack
- Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - S Debener
- Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Center for Neurosensory Science and Systems, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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33
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Wiltshire TJ, van Eijndhoven K, Halgas E, Gevers JMP. Prospects for Augmenting Team Interactions with Real-Time Coordination-Based Measures in Human-Autonomy Teams. Top Cogn Sci 2022. [PMID: 35261211 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12606] [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: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Complex work in teams requires coordination across team members and their technology as well as the ability to change and adapt over time to achieve effective performance. To support such complex interactions, recent efforts have worked toward the design of adaptive human-autonomy teaming systems that can provide feedback in or near real time to achieve the desired individual or team results. However, while significant advancements have been made to better model and understand the dynamics of team interaction and its relationship with task performance, appropriate measures of team coordination and computational methods to detect changes in coordination have not yet been widely investigated. Having the capacity to measure coordination in real time is quite promising as it provides the opportunity to provide adaptive feedback that may influence and regulate teams' coordination patterns and, ultimately, drive effective team performance. A critical requirement to reach this potential is having the theoretical and empirical foundation from which to do so. Therefore, the first goal of the paper is to review approaches to coordination dynamics, identify current research gaps, and draw insights from other areas, such as social interaction, relationship science, and psychotherapy. The second goal is to collate extant work on feedback and advance ideas for adaptive feedback systems that have potential to influence coordination in a way that can enhance the effectiveness of team interactions. In addressing these two goals, this work lays the foundation as well as plans for the future of human-autonomy teams that augment team interactions using coordination-based measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis J Wiltshire
- Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University
| | | | - Elwira Halgas
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology
| | - Josette M P Gevers
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology
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34
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Boukarras S, Özkan DG, Era V, Moreau Q, Tieri G, Candidi M. Midfrontal Theta tACS Facilitates Motor Coordination in Dyadic Human-Avatar Interactions. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:897-915. [PMID: 35171250 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Synchronous interpersonal motor interactions require moment-to-moment prediction and proactive monitoring of the partner's actions. Neurophysiologically, this is highlighted by an enhancement of midfrontal theta (4-7 Hz) oscillations. In this study, we explored the causal role of midfrontal theta for interpersonal motor interactions using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). We implemented a realistic human-avatar interaction task in immersive virtual reality where participants controlled a virtual arm and hand to press a button synchronously with a virtual partner. Participants completed the task while receiving EEG-informed theta (Experiment 1) or beta (control frequency, Experiment 2) tACS over the frontal midline, as well as sham stimulation as a control. Results showed that midfrontal theta tACS significantly improved behavioral performance (i.e., reduced interpersonal asynchrony) and participants' motor strategies (i.e., increased movement times and reduced RTs), whereas beta tACS had no effect on these measures. These results suggest that theta tACS over frontal areas facilitates action monitoring and motor abilities supporting interpersonal interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Boukarras
- Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Duru Gun Özkan
- Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Vanessa Era
- Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Quentin Moreau
- Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaetano Tieri
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
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35
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Key AP, Yan Y, Metelko M, Chang C, Kang H, Pilkington J, Corbett BA. Greater Social Competence Is Associated With Higher Interpersonal Neural Synchrony in Adolescents With Autism. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 15:790085. [PMID: 35069156 PMCID: PMC8770262 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.790085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Difficulty engaging in reciprocal social interactions is a core characteristic of autism spectrum disorder. The mechanisms supporting effective dynamic real-time social exchanges are not yet well understood. This proof-of-concept hyperscanning electroencephalography study examined neural synchrony as the mechanism supporting interpersonal social interaction in 34 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (50% female), age 10-16 years, paired with neurotypical confederates of similar age. The degree of brain-to-brain neural synchrony was quantified at temporo-parietal scalp locations as the circular correlation of oscillatory amplitudes in theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands while the participants engaged in a friendly conversation. In line with the hypotheses, interpersonal neural synchrony was significantly greater during the social interaction compared to the baseline. Lower levels of synchrony were associated with increased behavioral symptoms of social difficulties. With regard to sex differences, we found evidence for stronger interpersonal neural synchrony during conversation than baseline in females with autism, but not in male participants, for whom such condition differences did not reach statistical significance. This study established the feasibility of hyperscanning during real-time social interactions as an informative approach to examine social competence in autism, demonstrated that neural coordination of activity between the interacting brains may contribute to social behavior, and offered new insights into sex-related variability in social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra P. Key
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States,Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States,*Correspondence: Alexandra P. Key
| | - Yan Yan
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Mary Metelko
- Institute for Software Integrated Systems, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Catie Chang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Hakmook Kang
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States,Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Jennifer Pilkington
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Blythe A. Corbett
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
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36
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Pan Y, Novembre G, Olsson A. The Interpersonal Neuroscience of Social Learning. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 17:680-695. [PMID: 34637374 DOI: 10.1177/17456916211008429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The study of the brain mechanisms underpinning social behavior is currently undergoing a paradigm shift, moving its focus from single individuals to the real-time interaction among groups of individuals. Although this development opens unprecedented opportunities to study how interpersonal brain activity shapes behaviors through learning, there have been few direct connections to the rich field of learning science. Our article examines how the rapidly developing field of interpersonal neuroscience is (and could be) contributing to our understanding of social learning. To this end, we first review recent research extracting indices of brain-to-brain coupling (BtBC) in the context of social behaviors and, in particular, social learning. We then discuss how studying communicative behaviors during learning can aid the interpretation of BtBC and how studying BtBC can inform our understanding of such behaviors. We then discuss how BtBC and communicative behaviors collectively can predict learning outcomes, and we suggest several causative and mechanistic models. Finally, we highlight key methodological and interpretational challenges as well as exciting opportunities for integrating research in interpersonal neuroscience with social learning, and we propose a multiperson framework for understanding how interpersonal transmission of information between individual brains shapes social learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafeng Pan
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
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37
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Is neural entrainment to rhythms the basis of social bonding through music? Behav Brain Sci 2021; 44:e73. [PMID: 34588047 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x20001296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Music uses the evolutionarily unique temporal sensitivity of the auditory system and its tight coupling to the motor system to create a common neurophysiological clock between individuals that facilitates action coordination. We propose that this shared common clock arises from entrainment to musical rhythms, the process by which partners' brains and bodies become temporally aligned to the same rhythmic pulse.
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38
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Lübbert A, Göschl F, Krause H, Schneider TR, Maye A, Engel AK. Socializing Sensorimotor Contingencies. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:624610. [PMID: 34602990 PMCID: PMC8480310 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.624610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this review is to highlight the idea of grounding social cognition in sensorimotor interactions shared across agents. We discuss an action-oriented account that emerges from a broader interpretation of the concept of sensorimotor contingencies. We suggest that dynamic informational and sensorimotor coupling across agents can mediate the deployment of action-effect contingencies in social contexts. We propose this concept of socializing sensorimotor contingencies (socSMCs) as a shared framework of analysis for processes within and across brains and bodies, and their physical and social environments. In doing so, we integrate insights from different fields, including neuroscience, psychology, and research on human-robot interaction. We review studies on dynamic embodied interaction and highlight empirical findings that suggest an important role of sensorimotor and informational entrainment in social contexts. Furthermore, we discuss links to closely related concepts, such as enactivism, models of coordination dynamics and others, and clarify differences to approaches that focus on mentalizing and high-level cognitive representations. Moreover, we consider conceptual implications of rethinking cognition as social sensorimotor coupling. The insight that social cognitive phenomena like joint attention, mutual trust or empathy rely heavily on the informational and sensorimotor coupling between agents may provide novel remedies for people with disturbed social cognition and for situations of disturbed social interaction. Furthermore, our proposal has potential applications in the field of human-robot interaction where socSMCs principles might lead to more natural and intuitive interfaces for human users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Lübbert
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Göschl
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hanna Krause
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Till R. Schneider
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Maye
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas K. Engel
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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39
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Zamm A, Palmer C, Bauer AKR, Bleichner MG, Demos AP, Debener S. Behavioral and Neural Dynamics of Interpersonal Synchrony Between Performing Musicians: A Wireless EEG Hyperscanning Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:717810. [PMID: 34588966 PMCID: PMC8473838 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.717810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal synchrony refers to the temporal coordination of actions between individuals and is a common feature of social behaviors, from team sport to ensemble music performance. Interpersonal synchrony of many rhythmic (periodic) behaviors displays dynamics of coupled biological oscillators. The current study addresses oscillatory dynamics on the levels of brain and behavior between music duet partners performing at spontaneous (uncued) rates. Wireless EEG was measured from N = 20 pairs of pianists as they performed a melody first in Solo performance (at their spontaneous rate of performance), and then in Duet performances at each partner's spontaneous rate. Influences of partners' spontaneous rates on interpersonal synchrony were assessed by correlating differences in partners' spontaneous rates of Solo performance with Duet tone onset asynchronies. Coupling between partners' neural oscillations was assessed by correlating amplitude envelope fluctuations of cortical oscillations at the Duet performance frequency between observed partners and between surrogate (re-paired) partners, who performed the same melody but at different times. Duet synchronization was influenced by partners' spontaneous rates in Solo performance. The size and direction of the difference in partners' spontaneous rates were mirrored in the size and direction of the Duet asynchronies. Moreover, observed Duet partners showed greater inter-brain correlations of oscillatory amplitude fluctuations than did surrogate partners, suggesting that performing in synchrony with a musical partner is reflected in coupled cortical dynamics at the performance frequency. The current study provides evidence that dynamics of oscillator coupling are reflected in both behavioral and neural measures of temporal coordination during musical joint action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zamm
- Sequence Production Laboratory, Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Caroline Palmer
- Sequence Production Laboratory, Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Anna-Katharina R. Bauer
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Institute for Psychology, European Medical School, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Martin G. Bleichner
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Institute for Psychology, European Medical School, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Alexander P. Demos
- Sequence Production Laboratory, Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Stefan Debener
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Institute for Psychology, European Medical School, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4All Oldenburg, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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40
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Takeuchi N, Izumi SI. Motor Learning Based on Oscillatory Brain Activity Using Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: A Review. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1095. [PMID: 34439714 PMCID: PMC8392205 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Developing effective tools and strategies to promote motor learning is a high-priority scientific and clinical goal. In particular, motor-related areas have been investigated as potential targets to facilitate motor learning by noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS). In addition to shedding light on the relationship between motor function and oscillatory brain activity, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which can noninvasively entrain oscillatory brain activity and modulate oscillatory brain communication, has attracted attention as a possible technique to promote motor learning. This review focuses on the use of tACS to enhance motor learning through the manipulation of oscillatory brain activity and its potential clinical applications. We discuss a potential tACS-based approach to ameliorate motor deficits by correcting abnormal oscillatory brain activity and promoting appropriate oscillatory communication in patients after stroke or with Parkinson's disease. Interpersonal tACS approaches to manipulate intra- and inter-brain communication may result in pro-social effects and could promote the teaching-learning process during rehabilitation sessions with a therapist. The approach of re-establishing oscillatory brain communication through tACS could be effective for motor recovery and might eventually drive the design of new neurorehabilitation approaches based on motor learning.
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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
| | - Shin-Ichi Izumi
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan;
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41
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Heggli OA, Konvalinka I, Cabral J, Brattico E, Kringelbach ML, Vuust P. Transient brain networks underlying interpersonal strategies during synchronized action. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:19-30. [PMID: 32337586 PMCID: PMC7812620 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal coordination is a core part of human interaction, and its underlying mechanisms have been extensively studied using social paradigms such as joint finger-tapping. Here, individual and dyadic differences have been found to yield a range of dyadic synchronization strategies, such as mutual adaptation, leading–leading, and leading–following behaviour, but the brain mechanisms that underlie these strategies remain poorly understood. To identify individual brain mechanisms underlying emergence of these minimal social interaction strategies, we contrasted EEG-recorded brain activity in two groups of musicians exhibiting the mutual adaptation and leading–leading strategies. We found that the individuals coordinating via mutual adaptation exhibited a more frequent occurrence of phase-locked activity within a transient action–perception-related brain network in the alpha range, as compared to the leading–leading group. Furthermore, we identified parietal and temporal brain regions that changed significantly in the directionality of their within-network information flow. Our results suggest that the stronger weight on extrinsic coupling observed in computational models of mutual adaptation as compared to leading–leading might be facilitated by a higher degree of action–perception network coupling in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ole Adrian Heggli
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ivana Konvalinka
- SINe Lab, Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Joana Cabral
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Elvira Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University Aldo Moro of Bari, Italy
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
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42
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Nguyen T, Schleihauf H, Kayhan E, Matthes D, Vrtička P, Hoehl S. Neural synchrony in mother-child conversation: Exploring the role of conversation patterns. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:93-102. [PMID: 32591781 PMCID: PMC7812624 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Conversations are an essential form of communication in daily family life. Specific patterns of caregiver–child conversations have been linked to children’s socio-cognitive development and child-relationship quality beyond the immediate family environment. Recently, interpersonal neural synchronization has been proposed as a neural mechanism supporting conversation. Here, we present a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning study looking at the temporal dynamics of neural synchrony during mother–child conversation. Preschoolers (20 boys and 20 girls, M age 5;07 years) and their mothers (M age 36.37 years) were tested simultaneously with fNIRS hyperscanning while engaging in a free verbal conversation lasting for 4 min. Neural synchrony (using wavelet transform coherence analysis) was assessed over time. Furthermore, each conversational turn was coded for conversation patterns comprising turn-taking, relevance, contingency and intrusiveness. Results from linear mixed-effects modeling revealed that turn-taking, but not relevance, contingency or intrusiveness predicted neural synchronization during the conversation over time. Results are discussed to point out possible variables affecting parent–child conversation quality and the potential functional role of interpersonal neural synchronization for parent–child conversation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trinh Nguyen
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Hanna Schleihauf
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Department for Primate Cognition, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen 37073, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Social Origins Lab, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
| | - Ezgi Kayhan
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam 14476, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Daniel Matthes
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Pascal Vrtička
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1010, Austria.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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43
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Zamm A, Debener S, Konvalinka I, Sebanz N, Knoblich G. The sound of silence: an EEG study of how musicians time pauses in individual and joint music performance. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:31-42. [PMID: 32734305 PMCID: PMC7812619 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pauses are an integral feature of social interaction. Conversation partners often pause between conversational turns, and musical co-performers often pause between musical phrases. How do humans coordinate the duration of pauses to ensure seamless interaction? A total of 40 trained pianists performed a simple melody containing fermatas (notated expressive pauses of unspecified duration) first alone (Solo) and then with a partner (Duet) while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. As predicted, Duet partners' tone onset synchrony was reduced for tones following pauses. Pauses were shorter in Duet relative to Solo performance, and synchrony of partners' Duet tone onsets was enhanced for tones following shorter pauses. EEG analysis revealed classic signatures of action preparation during pauses, namely decreases in the power of cortical beta oscillations (13-30 Hz, event-related desynchronization ERD). Beta ERD did not differ between pauses in Solo and Duet performance, but was enhanced for shorter relative to longer pauses, suggesting that reduced pause durations in Duet performance facilitated a neural state of enhanced action readiness. Together these findings provide novel insight into behavioural strategies by which musical partners resolve coordination challenges posed by expressive silence, and capture a clear neural signature of action planning during time-varying silences in natural music performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zamm
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest 1051, Hungar
| | - Stefan Debener
- Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
| | - Ivana Konvalinka
- Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby 2800, Denmark
| | - Natalie Sebanz
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest 1051, Hungar
| | - Günther Knoblich
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest 1051, Hungar
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44
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Hoehl S, Bertenthal BI. An interactionist perspective on the development of coordinated social attention. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 61:1-41. [PMID: 34266562 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2021.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Infants' ability to coordinate their attention with other people develops profoundly across the first year of life. Mainly based on experimental research focusing on infants' behavior under highly controlled conditions, developmental milestones were identified and explained in the past by prominent theories in terms of the onset of specific cognitive skills. In contrast to this approach, recent longitudinal research challenges this perspective with findings suggesting that social attention develops continuously with a gradual refinement of skills. Informed by these findings, we argue for an interactionist and dynamical systems view that bases observable advances in infant social attention skills on increasingly fine-tuned mutual adjustments in the caregiver-infant dyad, resulting in gradually improving mutual prediction. We present evidence for this view from recent studies leveraging new technologies which afford the opportunity to dynamically track social interactions in real-time. These new technically-sophisticated studies offer unprecedented insights into the dynamic processes of infant-caregiver social attention. It is now possible to track in much greater detail fluctuations over time with regard to object-directed attention as well as social attention and how these processes relate to one another. Encouraged by these initial results and new insights from this interactionist developmental social neuroscience approach, we conclude with a "call to action" in which we advocate for more ecologically valid paradigms for studying social attention as a dynamic and bi-directional process.
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45
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Novembre G, Iannetti GD. Proving Causality in Hyperscanning: Multibrain Stimulation and Other Approaches: Response to Moreau and Dumas. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:544-545. [PMID: 33941464 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Gian Domenico Iannetti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
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46
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Sacheli LM, Musco MA, Zazzera E, Paulesu E. Mechanisms for mutual support in motor interactions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3060. [PMID: 33542259 PMCID: PMC7862452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82138-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
What is the key to successful interaction? Is it sufficient to represent a common goal, or does the way our partner achieves that goal count as well? How do we react when our partner misbehaves? We used a turn-taking music-like task requiring participants to play sequences of notes together with a partner, and we investigated how people adapt to a partner's error that violates their expectations. Errors consisted of either playing a wrong note of a sequence that the agents were playing together (thus preventing the achievement of the joint goal) or playing the expected note with an unexpected action. In both cases, we found post-error slowing and inaccuracy suggesting the participants' implicit tendency to correct the partner's error and produce the action that the partner should have done. We argue that these "joint" monitoring processes depend on the motor predictions made within a (dyadic) motor plan and may represent a basic mechanism for mutual support in motor interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Maria Sacheli
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy.
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy.
| | - Margherita Adelaide Musco
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Zazzera
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy
| | - Eraldo Paulesu
- Department of Psychology and Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy
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47
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Pan Y, Novembre G, Song B, Zhu Y, Hu Y. Dual brain stimulation enhances interpersonal learning through spontaneous movement synchrony. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:210-221. [PMID: 32591830 PMCID: PMC7812617 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactive learning denotes the ability to acquire new information from a conspecific-a prerequisite for cultural evolution and survival. As inspired by recent neurophysiological research, here we tested whether social interactive learning can be augmented by exogenously synchronizing oscillatory brain activity across an instructor and a learner engaged in a naturalistic song-learning task. We used a dual brain stimulation protocol entailing the trans-cranial delivery of synchronized electric currents in two individuals simultaneously. When we stimulated inferior frontal brain regions, with 6 Hz alternating currents being in-phase between the instructor and the learner, the dyad exhibited spontaneous and synchronized body movement. Remarkably, this stimulation also led to enhanced learning performance. These effects were both phase- and frequency-specific: 6 Hz anti-phase stimulation or 10 Hz in-phase stimulation, did not yield comparable results. Furthermore, a mediation analysis disclosed that interpersonal movement synchrony acted as a partial mediator of the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning performance, i.e. possibly facilitating the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning. Our results provide a causal demonstration that inter-brain synchronization is a sufficient condition to improve real-time information transfer between pairs of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafeng Pan
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, 200062 Shanghai, China
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit (UR2NF), Université Libre de Bruxelles, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Parmacology, University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK
| | - Bei Song
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, 200062 Shanghai, China
- Department of Musicology, Harbin Conservatory of Music, 150070 Heilongjiang, China
| | - Yi Zhu
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, 200062 Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Hu
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, 200062 Shanghai, China
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Hoehl S, Fairhurst M, Schirmer A. Interactional synchrony: signals, mechanisms and benefits. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:5-18. [PMID: 32128587 PMCID: PMC7812629 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Many group-living animals, humans included, occasionally synchronize their behavior with that of conspecifics. Social psychology and neuroscience have attempted to explain this phenomenon. Here we sought to integrate results around three themes: the stimuli, the mechanisms and the benefits of interactional synchrony. As regards stimuli, we asked what characteristics, apart from temporal regularity, prompt synchronization and found that stimulus modality and complexity are important. The high temporal resolution of the auditory system and the relevance of socio-emotional information endow auditory, multimodal, emotional and somewhat variable and adaptive sequences with particular synchronizing power. Looking at the mechanisms revealed that traditional perspectives emphasizing beat-based representations of others' signals conflict with more recent work investigating the perception of temporal regularity. Timing processes supported by striato-cortical loops represent any kind of repetitive interval sequence fairly automatically. Additionally, socio-emotional processes supported by posterior superior temporal cortex help endow such sequences with value motivating the extent of synchronizing. Synchronizing benefits arise from an increased predictability of incoming signals and include many positive outcomes ranging from basic information processing at the individual level to the bonding of dyads and larger groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Merle Fairhurst
- Institute for Psychology, Bundeswehr University Munich, Germany
- Munich Center for Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University, Germany
| | - Annett Schirmer
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3rd Floor, Sino Building, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong
- Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3rd Floor, Sino Building, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong
- Center for Cognition and Brain Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3rd Floor, Sino Building, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong
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Bolt NK, Loehr JD. The motor-related brain activity that supports joint action: A review. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 212:103218. [PMID: 33307297 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent years have seen a rapid increase in research investigating the motor-related brain activity that supports joint action. This research has employed a variety of joint action tasks and an array of neuroimaging techniques, including fMRI, fNIRS, EEG, and TMS. In this review, we provide an overview of this research to delineate what is known about the motor-related brain activity that contributes to joint action and to highlight key questions for future research. Taken together, the surveyed research supports three major conclusions. First, the mere presence of a joint action context is sufficient to modulate motor activity elicited by observing others' actions. Second, joint action is supported by dissociable motor activity associated with a person's own actions, their partner's actions, and the joint action, and by between-brain coupling of motor-related oscillatory activity. Third, the structure of a joint action modulates the motor activity involved: Unique motor activity is associated with performing joint actions comprised of complementary actions and with holding the roles of leader and follower within a joint action. We conclude the review by highlighting overarching themes and key questions for future research.
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Hyperscanning Alone Cannot Prove Causality. Multibrain Stimulation Can. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 25:96-99. [PMID: 33293210 PMCID: PMC7994246 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Brains that work together, couple together through interbrain synchrony. Does interbrain synchrony causally facilitate social interaction? This question cannot be answered by simply recording from multiple brains (hyperscanning). It instead requires causal protocols entailing their simultaneous stimulation (multibrain stimulation). We highlight promising findings and future horizons of this nascent field.
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