Interindividual synchronization of brain activity during live verbal communication

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Verbal social interaction is crucial for psychiatric disorders but its neural basis is studied from an individual perspective.
• Inter-individual neural mechanisms of social interaction remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate inter-individual neuronal coupling during live verbal interaction.
• To explore the feasibility of simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for studying social communication.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous fMRI was used to scan 11 pairs of close female friends.
• Participants discussed autobiographical life events during the fMRI scan.
• Analysis focused on coupling of neural activity between interacting individuals.

Main Results:

• Significant coupling was observed between neural activity in speech production areas of one individual and the auditory cortex of their interlocutor.
• The time course of neural activity demonstrated synchronization between speakers.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates the feasibility of using simultaneous fMRI to measure inter-individual brain coupling during naturalistic verbal interaction.
• This methodology can advance our understanding of social interaction mechanisms and communication disorders, including potential applications in studying psychotherapy.
• Findings highlight the neural basis of reciprocal communication.