Emotions in multi-brain dynamics: A promising research frontier.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Emotions are fundamental to social interactions, shaping actions and reactions through feedback loops.
• Interacting brains can function as integrated systems, exhibiting coevolving neural dynamics.
• Neuronal synchronization across brains (inter-neural synchrony or INS) is observed in various species and proposed to facilitate social integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of studies on inter-neural synchrony (INS) across species.
• To emphasize the critical, yet underexplored, role of emotions in modulating multibrain dynamics during social interactions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing studies on inter-neural synchrony (INS).
• Analysis of research focusing on the interplay between emotions and neural synchrony in social contexts.
• Comparative overview across species including humans, monkeys, bats, and mice.

Main Results:

• Inter-neural synchrony (INS) is a documented phenomenon across diverse species, suggesting a conserved mechanism for social interaction.
• The influence of emotions on the dynamics of synchronized neural activity between interacting individuals remains largely uninvestigated.
• Existing research provides a foundation for exploring how emotional states shape functional brain integration during social engagement.

Conclusions:

• Inter-neural synchrony (INS) is a plausible mechanism for enabling functional integration across multiple brains during social interactions.
• Emotions are hypothesized to play a crucial role in modulating the observed inter-neural synchrony (INS) and subsequent social dynamics.
• Further research is essential to elucidate the precise mechanisms through which emotions influence neural synchrony and social behavior.