Abstract
To further test and explore the hypothesis that synchronous oscillatory brain activity supports interpersonally coordinated behavior during dyadic music performance, we simultaneously recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG) from the brains of each of 12 guitar duets repeatedly playing a modified Rondo in two voices by C.G. Scheidler. Indicators of phase locking and of within-brain and between-brain phase coherence were obtained from complex time-frequency signals based on the Gabor transform. Analyses were restricted to the delta (1–4 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) frequency bands. We found that phase locking as well as within-brain and between-brain phase-coherence connection strengths were enhanced at frontal and central electrodes during periods that put particularly high demands on musical coordination. Phase locking was modulated in relation to the experimentally assigned musical roles of leader and follower, corroborating the functional significance of synchronous oscillations in dyadic music performance. Graph theory analyses revealed within-brain and hyperbrain networks with small-worldness properties that were enhanced during musical coordination periods, and community structures encompassing electrodes from both brains (hyperbrain modules). We conclude that brain mechanisms indexed by phase locking, phase coherence, and structural properties of within-brain and hyperbrain networks support interpersonal action coordination (IAC).
Highlights
Social interaction is an ubiquitous ingredient of human life; our minds and brains function and are formed in interaction with other people (Hari and Kujala, 2009)
We investigated neural correlates of interpersonal action coordination (IAC) by examining pairs of guitarists repeatedly playing a duet in two voices
Phase locking was modulated in relation to the experimentally assigned musical roles of leader and follower
Summary
Social interaction is an ubiquitous ingredient of human life; our minds and brains function and are formed in interaction with other people (Hari and Kujala, 2009). Coherent brain oscillations may play a pivotal role, especially in tasks that require the close alignment (coordination) of one’s own and the other’s action in real time. This hypothesis is consistent with available evidence about the functional significance of brain oscillations in perception and action (Sanes and Donaghue, 1993; Makeig and Jung, 1996; Kilner et al, 2000). From a more general perspective, coherent brain oscillations allow for fast and precise information exchange (Roelfsema et al, 1997) and bind neuronal information from different regions (Varela et al, 2001), thereby qualifying as candidate brain mechanism of interpersonally coordinated behavior and social interaction
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