Altered Interpersonal Neural Synchronization During Social Interaction After Shared Excluded Experiences in
Yuwen He1,2, Jieting Chen3,4, Yong Lin3
1Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau Special Administrative Region, China.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
|December 1, 2025
Summary
Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) showed increased social interaction but decreased interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) after shared exclusion, indicating reduced mutual empathy. INS may detect social deficits in depressed adolescents better than behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period of brain development, making individuals vulnerable to psychosocial stressors.
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) is prevalent in adolescents and impacts social interaction.
- Shared excluded experiences represent a significant psychosocial stressor for adolescents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of shared excluded experiences on social interaction in adolescents with MDD.
- To explore the underlying interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) as an indicator of mutual empathy.
- To compare the responses of adolescents with MDD to those of healthy controls (HCs).
Main Methods:
- A 4-player Cyberball game was used, involving virtual and real players.
- Participants included 34 dyads of healthy adolescents and 34 dyads of adolescents with MDD.
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured INS during the game.
Main Results:
- Shared exclusion enhanced social interaction but decreased INS between excluded adolescents, suggesting reduced mutual empathy.
- Adolescents with MDD reported more negative feelings and exhibited stronger INS than HCs after exclusion, indicating higher empathic stress.
- No significant differences in behavioral responses to shared exclusion were found between groups.
- Altered brain-behavioral association patterns were observed in adolescents with MDD.
Conclusions:
- Shared psychosocial stressors impact INS in adolescents with depression.
- INS may be a more sensitive measure than behavioral responses for detecting social interaction deficits in adolescents with MDD.
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