Brains Might Sync As People Interact - Discover Magazine

People synchronize in various ways when we interact with one another. We subconsciously match our footsteps when we walk. TheMagazineShopLoginRegisterStayCuriousSubscribeTheSciencesMindTechnologyHealthEnvironmentPlanetEarthLifestyleMindBrainsMightSyncAsPeopleInteract—andThatCouldUpendConsciousnessResearchWhenwecooperateoncertaintasks,ourbrainwavesmightsynchronize.Thisfindingcouldupendthecurrentunderstandingofconsciousness.ByConorFeehlyJul26,20216:00PM(Credit:KatyaKovarzh/Shutterstock)NewsletterSignupforouremailnewsletterforthelatestsciencenewsSignUp Peoplesynchronizeinvariouswayswhenweinteractwithoneanother.Wesubconsciouslymatchourfootstepswhenwewalk.Duringconversations,wemirroreachother'sposturesandgestures. Tothatend,studieshaveshownthatpeoplesynchronizeheartratesandbreathingwhenwatchingemotionalfilmstogether.Thesamehappenswhenromanticpartnersshareabed.Somescientiststhinkwedothistobuildtrustandperceivepeopleassimilartoourselves,whichencouragesustobehavecompassionately. Surprisingly,peoplesynchronizetheirneuralrhythms,too.ResearcherslikeTomFroese,acognitivescientistfromtheOkinawaInstituteofScienceandTechnologyinJapan,thinkthatthesefindingscouldupendourcurrentmodelsofconsciousness. Youmayhaveexperiencedthiswhileplayingmusicwithsomeoneandfallingintorhythmicandmelodicharmony.Oryoumaycollectivelysolvedaproblemwithateam.Perhapsitfeltlikeyouwereoperatingatthesamefrequency—inreality,thismighthavenotbeenfarfromthetruth. Suchinter-brainneuralsynchronizationhasbeenobservedinpeopleengaginginmeaningfulinteractions.Butwhatdoesitactuallymean? WhatWeKnowAboutBrainSyncingOurbrainsaremadeupofbillionsofneurons.Whentheyfire—sendinginformationtonearbyneurons—theygiveoffelectricalsignals.Billionsofneuronsfiretocarryoutspecificcognitivetasks,likeproducingthoughtsorcontrollingthebody’smovement. Thesecollectiveelectricalsignalscanbealignedtocertainfrequencies,muchlikeawavewherethepeakrepresentsaspikeinneuralactivityandadiprepresentslowneuralactivity. Cognitivetasksoftenrequiredifferentregionsofthebrainto‘speak’tooneanother,allowinginformationtobetransferredandintegrated.Somescientistsclaimthatthisinformationtransferoccurswhenneuralfrequenciesfromdifferentbrainregionsalign.Thisisknownasphasesynchronization. Thesefrequencies,oroscillations,aremeasuredincyclespersecond,orhertz(Hz).Thereareafewdifferentwaysofmeasuringthisneuraloscillatoryactivity,butthemostcommonmethodisknowniselectroencephalography(EEG),wheresmallmetaldiscsplacedonthescalpmeasureelectricaloutput.Researchershaveobservedpeople’sneuralactivitywhiletheycompletecognitivetaskswithtechniqueslikeEEG,functionalmagneticresonanceimaging(fMRI),whichisamachinethatdetectswhereoxygenatedbloodisflowinginthebrain.Functionalnear-infraredspectroscopy(fNIRS)alsodetectsbloodflowinthebrain.Withthesetechniques,scientistshavepeeredintopeople’smindsastheycompletetasksinpairsandgroups.Theynoticedsomethingunexpected:Functionallinksappearedacrosspeople’sbrainswhentheycooperatedduringcertaintasks.Inotherwords,differentpeople’sneuraloscillationsalignedwhentheycooperated. Neuroscientistsneededtoruleoutthepossibilitythatthisneuralsynchronizationoccurredduetoasharedenvironment,similaritiesinsensoryinput(whatpeoplecouldsee,hear,smell),orinmotoroutput(howtheymovedtheirbodies). Onesuchstudy,publishedinPLOSOnein2016,examinedtheneuralactivityofpilotsandco-pilotsduringaflightsimulation.Inthiscase,theenvironmentremainsthesamebutthelevelofcooperationvariesthroughoutthetask.Pilotsandco-pilotsexhibitedhighlevelsofinter-brainconnectivityduringtakeoffandlandingbecausetheyneededtoactasateam,yettheyshowedlowerlevelsduringthecruisephaseoftheflightwhenthetwopilotsactedindependently.Apotentialexplanation:Functionallinksacrossbrainsincreasewhenpeopleworktogether,butnotforthosewhoarecompetingortakingonidenticaltaskssimultaneously. Inadifferentstudyfrom2018,greaterneuralsynchronizationoccurredbetweensubjectswhentheyweretoldtocompleteapuzzletogether.Synchronizationlevelsdroppedwhenthesamesubjectshadtocompleteidenticalpuzzlesindividually,orwhenbothwatchedotherpeoplefinishone. Asforthesubjectiveexperienceofindividualsinsuchstudies,higherfeelingsofcooperativenesswerealignedwithhigherlevelsofneuralsynchronization.Additionally,studyparticipants’levelofinter-brainsynchronycouldpredictsubjectivefeelingsofengagement,affinity,empathyandsocialconnection. WhyItMatters Asmostneuroscientistscurrentlyunderstand,nolocalizedregionornetworkinthebrainissolelyresponsibleforourconsciousexperience.Instead,someresearchersbelievethattheneuralbasisofconsciousness—specificallythefirst-handexperienceofit—comesfromlarge-scaleinteractionsbetweendifferentbrainregionsvianeuraloscillatoryactivity. Thatwouldrenderconsciousnessanemergentpropertyofmultipleinteractingnetworks,so itcouldn’tbereducedtoanysinglenetwork.Giventhisknowledge,alongwiththechangesthattranspireduringcooperativesocialinteractions,Froesearguesthatashiftinourunderstandingofconsciousnessiswarranted.Namely,hesupportsan‘extensionofconsciousness’. Froeseisn’tsuggestingthatconsciousnesslacksaneuralbasis;however,anindividual’sneuralactivityisembodiedintheirinteractionswiththeworld.Now,werealizethatotherpeoplemayplayarole. Theconsciousmind’sboundariescouldalsobeunderconstantrenegotiationduringexchangeswiththeenvironmentandotherpeople,Froeseexplainedina2020NeuroscienceofConsciousnessarticle.Whenwesocialize,inter-brainsynchronizationneurallybindsustogetherandextendsconsciousness.“Anupshotofthisproposalisthatitcanpotentiallyvalidateourmostintimateexperiences:Whenwebecomeawarethat‘we’aresharingamomentwithsomeoneelse,itisnolongernecessarilythecasethatwearefundamentallyseparatedbyourdistinctheads—wecouldreallybebetwoindividualssharinginoneandthesameunfoldingexperience,”hewrote. Froese’sideasbuildonaschoolofthoughtcalledcomplexsystemstheory,whichwouldagreethatconsciousnessemergesfrommultipleinteractingbrainnetworks. Hegoesastepfurtherbyassertingthatcertaincharacteristicscentraltoourexperienceofconsciousness,likeourdeepsenseofsocialconnectedness,cannotbeexplainedbyreducingthesystemtooneindividualbrain.Similarly,watercan’tbereducedtoitscomponentsofhydrogenandoxygenbecausethetwocomplexsystems’interactionsdriveitscomplexbehavior. Themainstreamneurosciencefieldhasn’tyetacceptedtheseideas,though.Manyresearchersassertthatthebrainrequiresphysiological,localizedconnectionstotransferinformation.Thelanguageofthebrainiscommunicatedviaanatomicalconnections,ratherthanregionsspeakingtoeachotherthroughphasesynchronization.ButFroeseextendsthesystembeyondtheparametersofourownheads,whichmaybeviewedassomewhatscandalousbysome.Heseesitasmakingsenseofhumanity.“Wehavetomoveawayfromthissolipsistic,brain-in-a-vat,neuro-reductionistviewofhumanconsciousness,”Froesesays. behavior&societybiologybrainhumanbody1freearticleleftWantMore?Getunlimitedaccessforaslowas$1.99/monthSubscribeAlreadyasubscriber?RegisterorLogIn1freearticleSubscribeWantmore?Keepreadingforaslowas$1.99!SubscribeAlreadyasubscriber?RegisterorLogInRelatedContentOurSenseofSmellMayBeMorePowerfulThanWeThinkBrazilTreeCamCapturesPossibleSelf-MedicatingBehaviorinManyMammalsHowTheNewScienceofBiocosmologyRedefinesOurUnderstandingOfLifeMoreFromDiscoverMind5EssentialNeurotransmittersforEverydayLifeHealthWhyCaffeineAffectsPeopleDifferentlyTheSciencesGutBiomeDiversityMightShapePersonality,EnergyLevelsHealthWhattoFeedYourMicrobesHealthHowBabyTeethCouldHelpPredictMentalDisordersHealthTheBenefitsofEatingaPlant-BasedDietRecommendationsFromOurStoreMyScienceShopDiscoverSTEMKitsMyScienceShopDiscover2022CalendarMyScienceShopStrangeScienceMyScienceShopElementsFlashcardsShopNowStayCuriousJoinOurListSignupforourweeklyscienceupdates.SignUp ViewourprivacypolicySubscribeToTheMagazineSaveupto70%offthecoverpricewhenyousubscribetoDiscovermagazine.SubscribeTheMagazineAboutDiscoverShopOurStorePrivacyPolicySubscribeAdvertiseNewsletterTermsofUseCustomerServiceContactCopyrightPolicyCopyright©2022KalmbachMediaCo.WebsiteAccessibilityTheMagazineShopTheSciencesMindTechnologyHealthEnvironmentPlanetEarthLifestyleSubscribeLogin