HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2026

SYNCON · The role of interpersonal neural SYNchrony during verbal CONversations: Correlation, Causation and Personalization

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-07-01 → 2026-04-30
Финансиране от ЕС: 188 392 €
Участници: 1
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Невронната синхронизация между двама души при разговор се проучва чрез измерване на мозъчните вълни по време на диалог. Разбирането на този процес може да помогне за подобряване на комуникацията в терапевтични среди и образователните процеси.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

The role of interpersonal neural SYNchrony during verbal CONversations: Correlation, Causation and Personalization

Verbal conversations are fundamental to human social interaction and rely on complex socio-cognitive processes like fast turn-taking and phonetic convergence. Effective communication is believed to involve interpersonal neural synchrony (INS), a phenomenon where the brain oscillations of two speakers align during engagement. However, current research on INS is limited by artificial experimental conditions and purely correlational evidence, leaving the precise neural mechanisms of natural conversation poorly understood. The SYNCON project aims to uncover the exact role of INS in successful verbal communication through three distinct objectives. First, it maps the correlation between neural synchrony and engaging conversation patterns using dual-EEG hyperscanning during free-flowing dialogues. Subsequently, the project investigates causality by applying multi-person brain stimulation to safely induce INS, utilizing personalized neural profiles to optimize social coordination between speakers. Understanding how neural synchronization drives effective conversations offers profound applications for human health, wellbeing, and communication. By determining how to measure and safely induce optimal INS, the project could help facilitate better communication in therapeutic settings or enhance social learning in educational environments. This aligns closely with broader European strategic health missions by establishing an empirical basis for using non-invasive brain stimulation to improve clinical and interpersonal outcomes. The project intrinsically integrates social sciences and humanities by bridging cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, and linguistics. Analyzing intricate human interaction patterns, such as phonetic alignment and communication rhythms, relies heavily on established linguistic frameworks and behavioral psychology. This interdisciplinary approach is essential for comprehensively understanding how our brains naturally foster social bonds and shared understanding during conversations.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Verbal conversations are a hallmark of human social interaction and are supported by various socio-cognitive processes promoting specific conversation patterns. For instance, more engaging conversations are marked by how often and quickly participants switch turns speaking (turn-taking). Similarly, an engaging conversation is also marked by the interlocutors converging towards a common phonetic space (phonetic convergence). One of the neural mechanisms supporting these conversation patterns is proposed to be interpersonal neural synchrony (INS), the coupling of brain oscillations between two interlocutors. However, only a few studies truly tested the role of INS during free-flowing conversations. These studies have some limitations as they were either conducted in a non-ecologically valid context or the evidence was purely correlational. In addition, important inter-dyadic differences were neglected. The present project – SYNCON – aims to overcome these limitations by combining EEG hyperscanning with multi-person brain stimulation (tACS) and personalized neuroscience. I will first measure the correlation between INS and mutually engaged conversations marked by enhanced turn-taking and phonetic convergence. The measurement will yield a dyad-specific INS profile, considering properties such as frequency, phase, and topography. Utilizing a longitudinal design, these profiles will allow me – in a second experiment – to exogenously induce INS between interlocutors and, in turn, promote mutually engaged conversations (i.e., increased turn-taking and phonetic convergence). Understanding the causal role of INS in conversations will have groundbreaking applications for facilitating interpersonal communication across therapeutical and educational contexts. Accordingly, this project will address critical gaps in our understanding of the neural underpinnings of human communication and its potential use in applied contexts.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA · GenovaКоординаторИталия