Speaker-listener coupling: a novel neural approach for assessing communication

沟通是一个动态的过程，信息通过这个过程在人与人之间传递。是为了 然而，在实验对照中，大多数关于交流的认知神经科学工作都集中在这两种语言上 在高度人工化的任务中，说话者的大脑产生或听者的大脑理解。 沟通，本质上是一个嵌入在社会背景下的联合行动， 孤立的个体。在这个建议中，我们提出了一个新的和通用的框架， 在真实的世界中的神经机制。该框架认为，有效 当两个对话者的神经活动“耦合”在一起时，交流出现。这种耦合 可以采取以下形式：（1）镜像，当听者的神经模式与说话者的神经模式相匹配时;（2） 条件转换，当听者的模式反映了一个合法的关系，以扬声器的神经 模式;或（3）协同作用，当两个大脑的活动动态地相互影响和约束时 优化信息共享。 为了测试我们的理论框架，我们建议开发固定式和便携式双脑成像 用于测量在实验室中参与对话的多个个体的神经活动的系统 临床环境。其中两个系统，fMRI超扫描和ECoG超扫描，利用了 各自方法的高空间和高时间分辨率，以精确表征耦合神经元 对话中的动态。对于第三个系统，我们建议开发一个便携式，双脑fNIRS系统， 描述两个大脑在现实生活中是如何互动的。实地工作测量脑对脑的水平 照顾者和孩子之间的耦合可以用来研究第一语言的习得;作为早期的 发育障碍的言语前生物标志物（例如，缺乏作为发育障碍的早期生物标志物的儿童-儿童耦合）。 自闭症）;并作为一种时间上精确的诊断工具，用于评估行为和 旨在缓解沟通缺陷的药物干预（例如自闭症、精神分裂症）。 虽然拟议中的研究在技术上具有挑战性，但该实验室在开发 创新的分析工具和理论框架，用于研究现实生活中的认知功能。 PI在ECoG，fMRI和fNIRS方面具有丰富的工作经验，并且研究了两种神经典型 临床人群。我们的建议是在以前的工作研究共享神经的程度强有力的基础上， 在处理现实生活中的信息时，不同主体的反应。因此，虽然雄心勃勃， 研究计划既可行又有根据，有可能改变我们理解和 评估我们在日常环境中与他人互动的神经过程。最终，我们认为， 这项工作将导致一种新的脑-脑耦合生物标志物，用于检测言语前交流障碍。 并评估临床环境中的干预措施。

Communication is a dynamic process by which information is transferred across people. For the sake of experimental control, however, most cognitive neuroscience work on communication focus on either language production in the speaker's brain or comprehension in the listener's brain during highly artificial tasks. Communication, which by nature is a joint action embedded in a social context, is paradoxically studied in single individuals in isolation. In this proposal, we advance a new and versatile framework for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying communication in the real world. This framework argues that effective communication emerges when the neural activity of the two interlocutors are “coupled” together. This coupling can take the form of (1) mirroring, when the listener's neural patterns match those of the speaker; (2) conditional transformations, when the listener's patterns reflect a lawful relation to the speaker's neural patterns; or (3) synergies, when the activities of the two brains dynamically influence and constrain each other to optimize information sharing. To test our theoretical framework, we propose developing both stationary and portable dual-brain imaging systems for measuring the neural activity of multiple individuals engaged in dialogue in the laboratory and in clinical settings. Two of the systems, fMRI hyperscanning and ECoG hyperscanning, take advantage of the high spatial and high temporal resolution of the respective methods to precisely characterize coupled neural dynamics during dialogue. For the third system, we propose developing a portable, dual-brain fNIRS system to characterize how two brains interact in real-life settings. Field work measuring the level of brain-to-brain coupling between a caregiver and a child could be used to study the acquisition of a first language; as an early preverbal biomarker for developmental disorder (e.g. lack of caregiver-child coupling as an early biomarker for autism); and as a temporally refined diagnostic tool for evaluating the effectiveness of behavioral and pharmacological interventions aimed at alleviating communication deficits (e.g. in autism, schizophrenia). Although the proposed research is technologically challenging, this laboratory has a track record of developing innovative analysis tools and theoretical frameworks for the study of cognitive functions in real-life contexts. The PI has substantial experience working with ECoG, fMRI and fNIRS, as well as studying both neurotypical and clinical populations. Our proposal is strongly grounded in prior work studying the extent of shared neural responses across subjects during the processing of real-life information. Thus, although ambitious, the research plan is both feasible and grounded, and has the potential to transform the way we understand and assess the neural processes by which we interact with others in everyday contexts. Ultimately, we believe that this work will lead to a novel brain-to-brain coupling biomarker for detecting preverbal communication disorders and assessing interventions in clinical settings.