Bidirectional information flow in cooperative learning reflects emergent leadership

Advances in social neuroscience have shown that one of the fundamental characteristics of cooperative learning is synchronization between learners' brains. However, the directionality of this synchronization, and the role of emergent leadership (i.e., a group leader emerges naturally), in cooperative learning remain unclear. Here, we investigated the directionality and dynamics of information flow by leveraging functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning and Granger causality analysis (GCA). Through a 6 min dyadic cooperative learning task, we observed that dyads' utterance score increased over time and remained stable at the end of interaction, suggesting successful cooperative learning. At the neural level, we found a stronger leader-to-follower Granger causality in the left middle temporal gyrus, alongside a more pronounced follower-to-leader causality in the left sensorimotor cortex. Moreover, we found that information transfer in both directions increased and peaked around the first half of time into the task, followed by a decline. These temporally similar yet spatially dissociable patterns of directional information flow suggest a hierarchical organization of bidirectional communication during cooperative learning with emergent leadership.