Abstract
During social interactions, each individual’s actions are simultaneously a consequence of and an antecedent to their interaction partner’s behavior. Capturing online the brain processes underlying such mutual dependency requires simultaneous measurements of all interactants’ brains during real-world exchange (‘hyperscanning’). This demands a precise characterization of the type of interaction under investigation, however, and analytical techniques capable of capturing interpersonal dependencies. We adapted an interactive task capable of dissociating between two dimensions of interdependent social exchange: goal structure (cooperation vs competition) and interaction structure [concurrent (CN) vs turn-based]. Performing dual-functional magnetic resonance imaging hyperscanning on pairs of individuals interacting on this task, and modeling brain responses in both interactants as systematic reactions to their partner’s behavior, we investigated interpersonal brain-behavior dependencies (iBBDs) during each dimension. This revealed patterns of iBBDs that differentiated among exchanges; in players supporting the actions of another, greater brain responses to the co-player’s actions were expressed in regions implicated in social cognition, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and temporal cortices. Stronger iBBD during CN competitive exchanges was observed in brain systems involved in movement planning and updating, however, such as the supplementary motor area. This demonstrates the potential for hyperscanning to elucidate neural processes underlying different forms of social exchange.
Highlights
Humans engage in a variety of social exchanges on a daily basis; we interact with friends and loved ones, and with rivals and strangers
Performing dual-functional magnetic resonance imaging hyperscanning on pairs of individuals interacting on this task, and modeling brain responses in both interactants as systematic reactions to their partner’s behavior, we investigated interpersonal brain-behavior dependencies during each dimension
There was no main effect of role (F[1,43] = 0.73; P = 0.40; ηp2 = 0.13), but a main effect of goal confirmed that players made more successful placements in both roles under the cooperation relative to the competition condition (0.95 [±0.01] vs 0.41 [±0.01]; F[1,43] = 3655.31; P < 0.001; ηp2 = 1.00)
Summary
Humans engage in a variety of social exchanges on a daily basis; we interact with friends and loved ones, and with rivals and strangers. Increasing awareness that social cognition differs fundamentally during real interaction compared to mere observation has led to calls for ‘real-world’, ‘in situ’ or ‘two-person’ social neuroscience (Hari et al, 2013; Schilbach et al, 2013; Kasai et al, 2015), whereby the brains of two or more interactants are measured simultaneously while they engage with one another in real-time social exchanges This ‘hyperscanning’ technique requires a number of methodological and technical developments before it can be used to advance the field of social neuroscience, and this was the focus of the present study
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