Neural Noise

Inhibited neural response during interpersonal conflict from fNIRS hyperscanning

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  • fNIRS hyperscanning reveals inhibited neural response during interpersonal conflict.1
  • The work uses neural signal methods (fNIRS) with a focus on social and behavioral context.1 1

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • Two-experiment fNIRS hyperscanning study (Cao, Zhang, Zhang and Li) in Frontiers in Psychology 2025 (16:1712278): Experiment 1 had 106 right-handed undergraduates (22 male/84 female, 18–21 years, M = 19.54) forming 53 same-gender acquainted dyads who passively watched 60 s conflict and neutral videos, while Experiment 2 had 58 undergraduates in 29 dyads performing scripted role-play.2
  • Recording used 19 fNIRS channels at 760/850 nm sampled at 7.8125 Hz, preprocessed in HOMER2 (channels with coefficient of variation >15% pruned, 0.01–0.07 Hz bandpass, wavelet motion correction), with analysis focused on the oxyhemoglobin (HbO) signal.2
  • Four regions of interest were targeted—left inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right temporoparietal junction—regions tied to emotion regulation, cognitive control, and social cognition/perspective-taking.2
  • Intra-brain HbO followed an unexpected rest > conflict > neutral ordering: resting produced positive activation while both conflict and neutral produced cortical deactivation (e.g., Experiment 1 lDLPFC F(2,210) = 143.31, FDR-corrected p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.577), interpreted as default-mode deactivation during social processing.2
  • Inter-brain synchronization (wavelet transform coherence over a data-driven 0.01–0.05 Hz / 20–100 s band) decreased significantly during conflict versus neutral and rest in the lIFG, rDLPFC, and rTPJ (e.g., rTPJ F(2,104) = 9.688, FDR-corrected p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.157), evidencing disrupted interpersonal alignment.2
  • Manipulation checks confirmed the conflict effect: perceived partner “adorableness” fell (mean change 0.86, t(105) = 4.83, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.47), self-reported happiness dropped (d = 0.48), and the monetary reward given to partners decreased (d = 0.21), alongside low perceived goal congruence.2
  • The active role-play experiment replicated most effects but diverged at the rTPJ, which showed positive HbO activation during conflict (rest-versus-conflict not significant), suggesting greater mentalizing engagement when actively participating than when merely observing.2
  • Context: a meta-analysis of 13 fNIRS hyperscanning studies (890 participants) found robust inter-brain synchrony in prefrontal and temporoparietal cortex during cooperation, so the conflict-driven decrease reported here is the mirror image, pointing to perspective-taking and interpersonal attunement as candidate intervention targets and inter-brain markers for social-BCI applications.3

Footnotes

  1. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMikgFBVV95cUxQWkRHLXFJM2N6REZsa1d4OFlNbW9uYXRwRm56Zjl5LXVSWHFNTHJ1VUZUYlpIMjVoRzVTbW00REdaNlZvZ19qVzJtd1I3RmdGOFY5YXd6ZE1UN1REakI5WnhoWDVKUWJFU0pPdkYzUGlYYkw1YnlITldxVTIzZkZwR284UE03QUxMODdUNEdTY0lydw?oc=5 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1712278/full ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. https://www.eneuro.org/content/9/2/ENEURO.0268-21.2022 ↩

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