Neural tracking and integration of 'self' and 'other' in improvised interpersonal coordination

Manuel Varlet, Sylvie Nozaradan, Patti Nijhuis, Peter E. Keller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Humans coordinate their movements with one another in a range of everyday activities and skill domains. Optimal joint performance requires the continuous anticipation of and adaptation to each other's movements, especially when actions are spontaneous rather than pre-planned. Here we employ dual-EEG and frequency-tagging techniques to investigate how the neural tracking of self- and other-generated movements supports interpersonal coordination during improvised motion. LEDs flickering at 5.7 and 7.7 Hz were attached to participants’ index fingers in 28 dyads as they produced novel patterns of synchronous horizontal forearm movements. EEG responses at these frequencies revealed enhanced neural tracking of self-generated movement when leading and of other-generated movements when following. A marker of self-other integration at 13.4 Hz (inter-modulation frequency of 5.7 and 7.7 Hz) peaked when no leader was designated, and mutual adaptation and movement synchrony were maximal. Furthermore, the amplitude of EEG responses reflected differences in the capacity of dyads to synchronize their movements, offering a neurophysiologically grounded perspective for understanding perceptual-motor mechanisms underlying joint action. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.
Original languageEnglish
Article number116303
Number of pages10
JournalNeuroImage
Volume206
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2020 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords

  • joints
  • motor ability
  • neurosciences
  • synchronization

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