Interpersonal neural coordination tracks interaction quality during naturalistic conversation.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Conversation quality varies significantly, influenced by interpersonal alignment.
• Understanding the mechanisms of conversational engagement and relational affinity is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate speech-to-speech, brain-to-speech, and brain-to-brain coordination as markers of interpersonal alignment.
• To examine the relationship between these coordination markers and perceived interaction quality and mutual affinity.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous recording of vocal and neural activity in dyads using dual-EEG (hyperscanning).
• Analysis of prosodic adaptation, neural speech tracking, and neural coordination during free-form conversations.
• Assessment of perceived interaction quality and mutual affinity between conversational partners.

Main Results:

• Partners with positive impressions showed increased prosodic convergence (volume, voice quality).
• No reliable effect of interaction quality on individual neural speech tracking was found.
• Higher perceived interaction quality was associated with enhanced brain-to-brain relationships, particularly concurrent alpha-band coupling.

Conclusions:

• Distinct coordination processes underpin conversational experience and relational affinity.
• Interpersonal alignment, reflected in speech and neural synchrony, is key to successful conversations.
• Brain-to-brain coordination, especially in the alpha band, is a significant predictor of perceived interaction quality.