The Use of Hyperscanning to Investigate the Role of Social, Affective, and Informative Gestures in Non-Verbal Communication. Electrophysiological (EEG) and Inter-Brain Connectivity Evidence.

Michela Balconi,Giulia Fronda

doi:10.3390/brainsci10010029

Abstract

Communication can be considered as a joint action that involves two or more individuals transmitting different information. In particular, non-verbal communication involves body movements used to communicate different information, characterized by the use of specific gestures. The present study aims to investigate the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates underlying the use of affective, social, and informative gestures during a non-verbal interaction between an encoder and decoder. From the results of the single brain and inter-brain analyses, an increase of frontal alpha, delta, and theta brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity emerged for affective and social gestures; while, for informative gestures, an increase of parietal alpha brain responsiveness and alpha, delta, and theta inter-brain connectivity was observed. Regarding the inter-agents’ role, an increase of frontal alpha activity was observed in the encoder compared to the decoder for social and affective gestures. Finally, regarding gesture valence, an increase of theta brain responsiveness and theta and beta inter-brain connectivity was observed for positive gestures on the left side compared to the right one. This study, therefore, revealed the function of the gesture type and valence in influencing individuals’ brain responsiveness and inter-brain connectivity, showing the presence of resonance mechanisms underlying gesture execution and observation.

Highlights

Communication is defined as a process that involves two or more individuals and allows the sharing of contents and information that can be transmitted in a verbal or non-verbal way.non-verbal communication has recently become more subject to investigation due to its considerable influence on the overall communication process and the social environment.Non-verbal communication, in particular, consists of the transmission of information through the use of body movements and facial expressions, which can regulate, accentuate, and integrate the contents’ transmission
Considering the inter-agents’ role, we expected to find a decrease of alpha power in the frontal areas for affective and social gesture in the encoder compared to the decoder
The increase of alpha brain responsiveness in the frontal areas may be due to the implementation of somatosensory and visuospatial processes used during the reproduction and reception of affective and social gestures [51,66,67]

Summary

Introduction

Communication is defined as a process that involves two or more individuals and allows the sharing of contents and information that can be transmitted in a verbal or non-verbal way.non-verbal communication has recently become more subject to investigation due to its considerable influence on the overall communication process and the social environment.Non-verbal communication, in particular, consists of the transmission of information through the use of body movements and facial expressions, which can regulate, accentuate, and integrate the contents’ transmission. Communication is defined as a process that involves two or more individuals and allows the sharing of contents and information that can be transmitted in a verbal or non-verbal way. Non-verbal communication has recently become more subject to investigation due to its considerable influence on the overall communication process and the social environment. Non-verbal communication, in particular, consists of the transmission of information through the use of body movements and facial expressions, which can regulate, accentuate, and integrate the contents’ transmission. Several studies have observed bodily interaction within the communication process [1,2,3], recognizing gestures as the link between verbal and non-verbal communication [4,5], whose function has been investigated mainly within the interactional context [6,7,8,9,10].

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion