how-to-calculate-validate-inter-brain-synchronization-fnirs

How to Calculate and Validate Inter-brain Synchronization in a fNIRS Hyperscanning Study

The dynamics between coupled brains of individuals have been increasingly represented by inter-brain synchronization (IBS) when they coordinate with each ...

Harbin Conservatory of Music

Much of human learning emerges as a result of interaction with others. Yet, this interpersonal process has been poorly characterized from a neurophysiological perspective. This study investigated (i) whether Interpersonal Brain Synchronization (IBS) can reliably mark social interactive learning, and specifically (ii) during what kind of interactive behavior. We recorded brain activity from learner-instructor dyads using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the acquisition of a music song. We made four fundamental observations. First, during the interactive learning task, brain activity recorded from the bilateral Inferior Frontal Cortex (IFC) synchronized across the learner and the instructor. Second, such IBS was observed in particular when the learner was observing the instructor's vocal behavior and when the learning experience entailed a turn-taking and more active mode of interaction. Third, this specific enhancement of IBS predicted learner's behavioral performance. Fourth, Granger causality analyses further disclosed that the signal recorded from the instructor's brain better predicted that recorded from the learner's brain than vice versa. Together, these results indicate that social interactive learning can be neurophysiologically characterized in terms of IBS. Furthermore, they suggest that the learner's involvement in the learning experience, alongside the instructor's modeling, are key factors driving the alignment of neural processes across learner and instructor. Such alignment impacts upon the real-time acquisition of new information and eventually upon the learning (behavioral) performance. Hence, besides providing a biological characterization of social interactive learning, our results hold relevance for clinical and pedagogical practices.

Interpersonal synchronization of inferior frontal cortices tracks social interactive learning of a song.

Why is some music well-received whereas other music is not? Previous research has indicated the close temporal dependencies of neural activity among performers and among audiences. However, it is unknown whether similar neural contingencies exist between performers and audiences. Here, we used dual near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess whether inter-brain synchronization between violinist and audience underlies the popularity of violin performance. In the experiment, individual audience members (16 females) watched pre-recorded videos, each lasting 100 ​s or so, in which a violinist performed 12 musical pieces. The results showed that the popularity of the performance correlated with the left-temporal inter-brain coherence (IBC) between the audience and the violinist. The correlation was stronger at late watching (>50 ​s) than at early watching (≤50 ​s). The smaller the Granger causality from the audience to the violinist was, the higher was the popularity of the piece with the audience. Discriminant analysis showed that the IBC could distinguish high popularity from low popularity. Further analysis using support vector regression showed that the IBC could also predict the popularity. These findings reveal the association of IBC with the popularity of violin performance. Music appreciation involves the brains of music producers and perceivers in a temporally aligned network through which audiences perceive the intentions of the performer and show positive emotions related to the musical performance.

The averaged inter-brain coherence between the audience and a violinist predicts the popularity of violin performance.

Social interactive learning denotes the ability to acquire new information from a conspecific-a prerequisite for cultural evolution and survival. As inspired by recent neurophysiological research, here we tested whether social interactive learning can be augmented by exogenously synchronizing oscillatory brain activity across an instructor and a learner engaged in a naturalistic song-learning task. We used a dual brain stimulation protocol entailing the trans-cranial delivery of synchronized electric currents in two individuals simultaneously. When we stimulated inferior frontal brain regions, with 6 Hz alternating currents being in-phase between the instructor and the learner, the dyad exhibited spontaneous and synchronized body movement. Remarkably, this stimulation also led to enhanced learning performance. These effects were both phase- and frequency-specific: 6 Hz anti-phase stimulation or 10 Hz in-phase stimulation, did not yield comparable results. Furthermore, a mediation analysis disclosed that interpersonal movement synchrony acted as a partial mediator of the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning performance, i.e. possibly facilitating the effect of dual brain stimulation on learning. Our results provide a causal demonstration that inter-brain synchronization is a sufficient condition to improve real-time information transfer between pairs of individuals.

Bei Song

Department of Musicology

Harbin Conservatory of Music

How to Calculate and Validate Inter-brain Synchronization in a fNIRS Hyperscanning Study

Bei Song

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Musicology

Harbin Conservatory of Music

How to Calculate and Validate Inter-brain Synchronization in a fNIRS Hyperscanning Study

Department of Musicology