Researchers also created a novel approach for combined brain function monitoring by two individuals, which allows them to research social contact.
The investigators scanned brain activity from 10 couples in a recent study. Each pair spent 45 minutes in physical contact with each other inside the MRI scanner. The study aimed to examine how social contact activates the brain. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry ‘s subject topic Social Interaction in Neuropsychiatry.
“This is an excellent start for the study of natural interaction. People don’t just react to external stimuli, but adjust their actions moment-by-moment based on what they expect to happen next,” says Riitta Hari, emerita Professor.
Ordinary magnetic resonance imaging is used to scan a single individual at a time. The head-coil used for routine brain scans was split into two different coils in the established system. This new design allows two brains to be scanned simultaneously, when the individuals within the scanner are positioned close enough to each other. The participants had been face-to-face during the scanning, almost hugging each other.
The subjects took turns in tapping each other’s lips, when instructed by the researchers. Looking at the brain scans, the analysts could see that the brains of the couples’ motor and sensory regions were triggered.
“During social interaction, people’s brains are literally synchronized. The associated mental imitation of other people’s movements is probably one of the basic mechanisms of social interaction. The new technology now developed will provide totally new opportunities for studying the brain mechanisms of social interaction,” says Professor Lauri Nummenmaa.
“For example, during a conversation or problem solving, people’s brain functions become flexibly linked with each other. However, we cannot understand the brain basis of real-time social interaction if we cannot simultaneously scan the brain functions of both persons involved in social interaction,” Riitta Hari says.
