Collaborative rule learning promotes interbrain information alignment

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Social Interaction Research

Background:

• Social interactions profoundly influence perception and information processing.
• Interpersonal alignment of sensory and cognitive processes is crucial for cooperation and communication.
• The neural underpinnings of this interbrain alignment remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal dynamics of neural information alignment between interacting individuals.
• To differentiate between early, stimulus-driven alignment and later, cognition-driven alignment.
• To explore the role of shared representations and task practice in fostering interbrain synchrony.

Main Methods:

• Utilized electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning to record brain activity from pairs of participants.
• Applied Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA) to quantify interbrain information alignment.
• Analyzed data from 24 pairs performing a joint categorization task with established rules.

Main Results:

• Significant interbrain information alignment was detected as early as 45 milliseconds post-stimulus onset.
• Early alignment (45-180 ms) was observed in both real and pseudo-pairs, indicating shared sensory processing.
• Alignment beyond 200 ms was significantly stronger in real pairs and increased with task practice, reflecting shared cognitive representations beyond explicit rules.

Conclusions:

• Distinct neural processes contribute to interbrain information alignment during social interaction.
• Early alignment reflects shared sensory processing, while later alignment is driven by developing shared representations and cooperative learning.
• Interbrain RSA is a powerful tool for dissecting the neural mechanisms of social coordination and understanding.