Social Interactions and Interbrain Synchrony in Early Development: A Scoping Review of Pediatric EEG/MEG...

Hyperscanning methods are gaining prominence in psychophysiological research and yielding interesting insights into the neural mechanisms supporting interpersonal social engagement. However, the vast majority of that innovative work is being carried out in adolescents and adults. Given the known importance of dyadic social interactions for supporting early neurodevelopment, expanding hyperscanning methods to child studies presents a promising opportunity to broaden the field's understanding of the interplay between neural, behavioral, and environmental factors contributing to social connectedness. This scoping review summarizes the findings from the empirical, peer-reviewed pediatric hyperscanning studies involving children 7 years of age or younger. We review methodological practices related to the experimental design of naturalistic social interaction paradigms and data analysis options for quantifying interpersonal neural synchrony, identify their strengths and knowledge gaps, and propose key areas for future study.