Approach motivation sharpens shared neural processing: dissociable beta and alpha synchrony

Emotional narratives invite listeners into shared cognitive-emotional spaces, yet whether and how a listener's motivational state shapes this convergence remains unknown. Understanding this question is central to accounts of emotional communication, which assume shared processing but rarely examine the individual and contextual factors that modulate it. We recorded magnetoencephalogram (MEG) from 61 participants who listened to anger and fear narratives after an approach or avoidance motivation induction. Source-level intersubject correlation (ISC) of oscillatory envelopes was computed across seven frequency bands in 72 cortical regions, providing spectral specificity unavailable to hemodynamic ISC. Approach motivation enhanced beta-band ISC in left-lateralized temporal networks, and theta ISC bilaterally, consistent with sharpened top-down predictive engagement. Fear narratives produced higher alpha-band ISC than anger narratives in the right-lateralized temporal-parietal regions and the left orbitofrontal cortex, indicating a dissociable sensory-attentional mechanism. Trait behavioral inhibition predicted reduced beta synchrony with the group, particularly when emotional content conflicted with the listener's motivational orientation. Motivational conflict also uniquely sustained shared processing across the narrative, favoring an engagement account over a fluency account. These findings reveal that shared neural processing during emotional narrative comprehension is simultaneously shaped by motivational state, narrative emotion, and dispositional threat sensitivity through parallel oscillatory channels.