Inter-Brain Coupling in Social Interactions can be Augmented by Environmental Factors: a hyperscanning investigation.

Hyperscanning is a new form of neuroimaging experiment where two participants are imaged simultaneously whilst they interact. In recent years, it has gathered interest specifically in social neuroscience, where the relationship between the neural data of participants is used to evaluate how brain response changes in tandem with varying degrees of social interactions and connectedness. It is proposed that quantification of the interplay between interacting participants can be used as a way to investigate mental health conditions including schizophrenia, social anxiety and autism. Social interactions are a fundamental aspect of human existence, from the interactions between a child and their parent, to world leaders on the global stage. The quality of social interaction we have is often considered a key driver, or consequence, of mental well-being. Identifying and quantifying dyadic neural markers of social interaction and in the process proposing ways to augment these markers via for example environmental changes; will enhance our understanding of social interactions. This an important goal of neuroimaging in a social neuroscience context.

Towards achieving the above challenges and goal, brain optical neuroimaging technology known as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can provide synchronous dyadic brain imaging in real time; and allow to quantify neural inter-brain coupling. fNIRS can image\measure with good spatial resolution and high temporal resolution the brain haemodynamic\oxygenation changes secondary to neuronal activity. In addition, fNIRS is a highly portable technique that can be easily interfaced with other modalities including eye-tracking and systemic physiology, to provide a true measurement of brain and body interaction.

Research Aims:

This PhD project will:

use state-of-the-art brain functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (or fNIRS) to monitor\image the brain in real-time during two-person interacting dyads;
develop computational methods of quantifying the relationship between dyadic neural data towards markers of social interaction;
apply and evaluate these developments in naturalistic settings of social interaction between dyads with and without environmental augmentations to prove modulation of social interaction and neural dyadic markers