Brains that Fire Together Wire Together: Interbrain Plasticity Underlies Learning in Social Interactions

Abstract

Social interactions are powerful determinants of learning. Yet the field of neuroplasticity is deeply rooted in probing changes occurring in synapses, brain structures, and networks within an individual brain. Here I synthesize disparate findings on network neuroplasticity and mechanisms of social interactions to propose a new approach for understanding interaction-based learning that focuses on the dynamics of interbrain coupling. I argue that the facilitation effect of social interactions on learning may be explained by interbrain plasticity, defined here as the short- and long-term experience-dependent changes in interbrain coupling. The interbrain plasticity approach may radically change our understanding of how we learn in social interactions.