RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Cooperative behavior evokes inter-brain synchrony in the prefrontal and temporoparietal cortex: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning studies
JF eneuro
JO eNeuro
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP ENEURO.0268-21.2022
DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0268-21.2022
A1 Czeszumski, Artur
A1 Liang, Sophie Hsin-Yi
A1 Dikker, Suzanne
A1 König, Peter
A1 Lee, Chin-Pang
A1 Koole, Sander L.
A1 Kelsen, Brent
YR 2022
UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2022/03/31/ENEURO.0268-21.2022.abstract
AB Single-brain neuroimaging studies have shown that human cooperation is associated with neural activity in frontal and temporoparietal regions. However, it remains unclear whether single-brain studies are informative about cooperation in real life, where people interact dynamically. Such dynamic interactions have become the focus of inter-brain studies. An advantageous technique in this regard is functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) because it is less susceptible to movement artifacts than more conventional techniques like EEG or fMRI. We conducted a systematic review and the first quantitative meta-analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning of cooperation, based on thirteen studies with 890 human participants. Overall, the meta-analysis revealed evidence of statistically significant inter-brain synchrony while people were cooperating, with large overall effect sizes in both frontal and temporoparietal areas. All thirteen studies observed significant inter-brain synchrony in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), suggesting that this region is particularly relevant for cooperative behavior. The consistency in these findings is unlikely to be due to task-related activations, given that the relevant studies used diverse cooperation tasks. Together, the present findings support the importance of inter-brain synchronization of frontal and temporoparietal regions in interpersonal cooperation. Moreover, the present article highlights the usefulness of meta-analyses as a tool for discerning patterns in inter-brain dynamics.Significance StatementWe present systematic review and the first quantitative meta-analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning of cooperation, based on thirteen studies with 890 participants. All thirteen studies observed significant inter-brain synchrony in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), suggesting that this region is particularly relevant for cooperative behavior. The present findings support the importance of inter-brain synchronization of frontal and temporoparietal regions in interpersonal cooperation.