The interacting brain: defining the role of dynamism among canonical brain networks during interactive behaviour

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Interacting effectively with others and conducting ourselves appropriately in social contexts is essential for establishing and maintaining meaningful interpersonal relationships and a healthy social environment. Although we do this with apparent ease, social interactions rely upon a broad set of sophisticated mental operations, or "cognitive processes", to be performed in a co-ordinated manner: even a simple fleeting exchange with a stranger requires us to monitor multiple social cues continuously (e.g., their verbal and non-verbal behaviour) in order to infer their motivations, intentions and emotions, and use this information to adapt our own behaviour in a context-appropriate manner. To support social interaction, then, the brain must be capable of recruiting and switching flexibly between the various networks of neural systems that underpin these cognitive processes.Research indicates that a particular set of cognitive processes help to coordinate effective social interaction - those enabling us to adapt flexibly in response to changing situational demands. Referred to collectively as "cognitive control", these foundational cognitive processes are believed to be underpinned by several distinct yet inter-connected core brain networks that integrate in coordinated ways to support adaptive behaviour. In this light, dynamic integrations among these brain networks should support effective social interaction. This project will determine precisely how such dynamism among these core brain networks support interactive behaviour.To identify the brain networks supporting interactive behaviour, it is necessary to measure the brains of individuals while they are engaged in social interactions. To achieve this, the Principal Investigator has developed a novel interactive task for brain imaging studies - the interactive Pattern Game (iPG). This task requires pairs of individuals to either cooperate or compete with one another in re-creating simple visual patterns. To do so, they must continuously infer and adapt to one another's intentions and motivations, thereby capturing some of the defining characteristics of naturalistic social interaction. In two separate yet complementary studies, this project will utilise the iPG to determine how the brain networks underpinning cognitive control integrate dynamically to support interactive behaviour. In the first study, a sample of healthy adults' brains will be measured with a technique capable of identifying with high spatial precision the involvement of brain networks supporting cognitive control processes during interactive behaviour. These brain networks will be localised with three tasks designed to elicit discrete aspects of cognitive control, and their involvement during interactive behaviour will be defined from brain responses measured in individuals engaged in the iPG with another person (the experimenter). Applying to these brain imaging data a combination of analytical techniques developed recently by the Principle Investigator, this study will identify systematic patterns of intergration among the brain networks underpinning cognitive control during social interaction.In the second study, a different brain imaging technique will measure the same sample of individuals' brains while they interact with the experimenter on the iPG - a technique with less spatial precision but more accuracy in capturing the directional flow of brain activity. Having defined the brain networks supporting specific aspects of cognitive control and interactive behaviour in the first study, the second study will reveal the precise way in which these networks communicate with one another (e.g., integrate and segregate) to support social interaction. These studies will define patterns of brain network dynamics that support social interaction, providing a foundation for future research to identify biomarkers for the interpersonal dysfunction characterising many neurological disorders.