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Shared intentionality modulates interpersonal neural synchronization at the establishment of communication system
Jieqiong Liu1,2, Ruqian Zhang1, Enhui Xie1
1Shanghai 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.
Communications Biology
|August 10, 2023
Summary
Shared intentionality (SI) drives communicative accuracy by enhancing interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) during novel communication system formation. This neural synchronization predicts accuracy early on, but its influence wanes as the system becomes established.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- The role of shared intentionality (SI) in establishing novel interpersonal communication systems remains unclear.
- Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying communication development is crucial for fields like psychology and neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how shared intentionality (SI) influences the establishment of novel communication systems.
- To explore the behavioral and neural correlates, including interpersonal neural synchronization (INS), associated with communication system formation.
Main Methods:
- A coordinating symbolic communication game (CSCG) was employed.
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning and hyper-transcranial alternating current stimulation (hyper-tACS) were utilized.
- Time series and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network analyses were performed.
Main Results:
- Shared intentionality (SI) significantly contributes to communicative accuracy.
- Higher SI, communicative accuracy, and interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in the right superior temporal gyrus (rSTG) were observed during successful novel communication system establishment.
- INS partially mediates the relationship between SI and communicative accuracy during the early formation stage, but this effect diminishes once the system is established. Hyper-tACS confirmed INS's causal role in communicative accuracy.
Conclusions:
- Shared intentionality (SI) and interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) form a critical behavioral and neural mechanism for establishing novel communication systems.
- The influence of SI and INS on communicative accuracy is stage-dependent, being most prominent during the formation phase.
- Interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) has a causal impact on communicative accuracy, highlighting its importance in developing new communication methods.
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