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Becoming Attuned to Each Other Over Time: A Computational Neural Agent Model for the Role of Time Lags in Subjective Synchrony Detection and Related Behavioral Adaptivity
Abstract
For a video presentation, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRfB0Pphi34.
Interpersonal synchrony usually induces behavioural adaptivity concerning the interaction between people. Such behavioural adaptivity is assumed to be driven by some form of subjective internal synchrony detection. In contrast to objective synchrony detection by an external (third-party) observer, such subjective synchrony detection can solely rely on subjective information available within the person by sensing. However, interaction between two persons involves time lags between the own actions and the sensing of actions of the other. In the computational agent model described in this paper, we explore the role of time lags in different types of subjective synchrony detection and its involvement in behavioural adaptivity. Multiple simulation experiments show expected types of patterns of subjective time-lagged synchrony detection and related behavioural adaptivity.
Supplementary resources (2)
... The presented computational architecture for adaptive social interaction was based on a variety of case studies and related evaluations, some of which for synchrony-induced social interation adaptivity already have been discussed in Section 7 and 8. Overall, the following case studies in the area of synchrony-induced social interaction adaptivity were an important source of inspiration: ( Koole, 2022a;. Case studies in the area of homophily-induced social interaction adaptivity were equally well an important source of inspiration, in particular those described in (Bössenecker, Mreijen, Treur, 2022;Mukeriia, Treur, Hendrikse, 2023;Tichelaar and Treur, 2024;. ...
In this paper a generic computational architecture for social interaction adaptivity and attunement is presented that was developed based on unification of a number of specific case studies addressed earlier. This architecture describes a generic multilevel multi-timescale adaptive dynamical system and is formalised and represented as a multi-order self-modeling network. It is shown how this architecture covers different earlier case studies addressing social interaction adaptivity and attunement subsuming synchrony-induced or homophily-induced adaptivity. Moreover, it is shown how based on it a new application to the design of bonding bots is realised that supports interpersonal emotion regulation via adaptive human-bot interaction and attunement. A central focus in this paper is on unification of the contributions in our research line on computational methods for social interaction science. The emphasis is on modeling and analysis of multimodal mental and social interaction dynamics adaptivity and attunement as occurs in affiliation and bonding from underlying causal mechanisms and pathways. The paper will contribute a unified computational architecture that covers several case studies analysed in the past and was also evaluated based on a new analysis to design bonding bots that interact with humans in order to obtain interpersonal emotion regulation.
The biologically discovered intrinsic plasticity (IP) learning rule, which changes the intrinsic excitability of an individual neuron by adaptively turning the firing threshold, has been shown to be crucial for efficient information processing. However, this learning rule needs extra time for updating operations at each step, causing extra energy consumption and reducing the computational efficiency. The event-driven or spike-based coding strategy of spiking neural networks (SNNs), i.e., neurons will only be active if driven by continuous spiking trains, employs all-or-none pulses (spikes) to transmit information, contributing to sparseness in neuron activations. In this article, we propose two event-driven IP learning rules, namely, input-driven and self-driven IP, based on basic IP learning. Input-driven means that IP updating occurs only when the neuron receives spiking inputs from its presynaptic neurons, whereas self-driven means that IP updating only occurs when the neuron generates a spike. A spiking convolutional neural network (SCNN) is developed based on the ANN2SNN conversion method, i.e., converting a well-trained rate-based artificial neural network to an SNN via directly mapping the connection weights. By comparing the computational performance of SCNNs with different IP rules on the recognition of MNIST, FashionMNIST, Cifar10, and SVHN datasets, we demonstrate that the two event-based IP rules can remarkably reduce IP updating operations, contributing to sparse computations and accelerating the recognition process. This work may give insights into the modeling of brain-inspired SNNs for low-power applications.
Interpersonal synchrony, the time-matching behaviors, is pervasive in human interactions. This resonation of movements or other forms was generally considered as one of critical survival skills for humans, as the important consequences of synchronizing with other persons in review of the empirical data in this article. These include positive affects towards and between interacting partners, but also include complex effects on the individual level. The intrapersonal effects of interpersonal synchrony are varied with positive or negative ones, including cognitive style, attitude bias, mood state, self-regulatory ability, and academic performance. At the interpersonal level, synchronized movement consistently affects the interaction with the partner and his/her affiliations, but they can be eliminated or magnified by several moderators, such as physiological arousal, shared intentionality, group bias, and musical rhythm. Finally, the research discussed the possible mechanisms underlying the effects of interpersonal synchrony in psychological and biological aspects.
Partnered interactions are a key manifestation of the cooperative nature of the human species. Partnering can take on a diversity of formats, including cognitive activities like problem-oriented conversations and physical tasks like moving furniture together. The primary objective of the present study was to use quantitative meta-analysis techniques to explore the neural basis of partnered interaction in search of domain-general brain areas common across interaction modalities. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of 18 functional neuroimaging studies was conducted that contrasted task performance with a partner and task performance in the absence of an interactive partner. Various interactive tasks were included that covered both cognitive and physical formats of partnering. The results of the meta-analysis revealed a single significant ALE cluster with two subpeaks in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), an area strongly associated with mentalizing, social prediction, and cooperation. The identification of the rTPJ as the principal cross-modal area for partnering highlights the role of implicit mentalizing in all forms of partnered interaction. The discovery of two distinct subpeaks may indicate unique differences in mentalizing function between the two areas.
In this paper, it is addressed by mathematical analysis how network-oriented modeling relates to the dynamical systems perspective on mental processes. It has been mathematically proven that any dynamical system can be modeled as a temporal-causal network model and that any adaptive dynamical system (of any order) can be modeled by a self-modeling network (of the same order).
Videos of lectures on several chapters of this book can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtJH8O7BvdydRVu9RXuhdtAo2S2wMPtgp. For more applications, see the Self-Modeling Networks channel at https://www.youtube.com/@self-modelingnetworks4255. This book addresses the challenging topic of modeling (multi-order) adaptive dynamical systems, which often have inherently complex behaviour. This is addressed by using their network representations. Networks by themselves usually can be modeled using a neat, declarative and conceptually transparent Network-Oriented Modeling approach. For adaptive networks changing the network’s structure, it is different; often separate procedural specifications are added for the adaptation process. This leaves you with a less transparent, hybrid specification, part of which often is more at a programming level than at a modeling level. This book presents an overall Network-Oriented Modeling approach by which designing adaptive network models becomes much easier, as also the adaptation processes are modeled in a neat, declarative and conceptually transparent network-oriented manner, like the base network itself. Due to this dedicated overall Network-Oriented Modeling approach, no procedural, algorithmic or programming skills are needed to design complex adaptive network models.
A dedicated software environment is available to run these adaptive network models from their high-level specifications. Moreover, as adaptive networks are described in a network format as well, the approach can simply be applied iteratively, so that higher-order adaptive networks in which network adaptation itself is adaptive too, can be modeled just as easily; for example, this can be applied to model metaplasticity from Cognitive Neuroscience. The usefulness of this approach is illustrated in the book by many examples of complex (higher-order) adaptive network models for a wide variety of biological, mental and social processes.
The book has been written with multidisciplinary Master and Ph.D. students in mind without assuming much prior knowledge, although also some elementary mathematical analysis is not completely avoided. The detailed presentation makes that it can be used as an introduction in Network-Oriented Modelling for adaptive networks. Sometimes overlap between chapters can be found in order to make it easier to read each chapter separately. In each of the chapters, in the Discussion section, specific publications and authors are indicated that relate to the material presented in the chapter. The specific mathematical details concerning difference and differential equations have been concentrated in Chapters 10 to 15 in Part IV and Part V, which easily can be skipped if desired. For a modeler who just wants to use this modeling approach, Chapters 1 to 9 provide a good introduction.
The material in this book is being used in teaching undergraduate and graduate students with a multidisciplinary background or interest. Lecturers can contact me for additional material such as slides, assignments, and software. Videos of lectures for many of the chapters can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nqp_dEIipU&list=PLF-Ldc28P1zUjk49iRnXYk4R-Jm4lkv2b.
In psychotherapy, movement synchrony seems to be associated with higher patient satisfaction and treatment outcome. However, it remains unclear whether movement synchrony rated by humans and movement synchrony identified by automated methods reflect the same construct. To address this issue, video sequences showing movement synchrony of patients and therapists (N = 10) or not (N = 10), were analyzed using motion energy analysis. Three different synchrony conditions with varying levels of complexity (naturally embedded, naturally isolated, and artificial) were generated for time series analysis with windowed cross-lagged correlation/ -regression (WCLC, WCLR). The concordance of ratings (human rating vs. automatic assessment) was computed for 600 different parameter configurations of the WCLC/WCLR to identify the parameter settings that measure movement synchrony best. A parameter configuration was rated as having a good identification rate if it yields high concordance with human-rated intervals (Cohen’s kappa) and a low amount of over-identified data points. Results indicate that 76 configurations had a good identification rate (IR) in the least complex condition (artificial). Two had an acceptable IR with regard to the naturally isolated condition. Concordance was low with regard to the most complex (naturally embedded) condition. A valid identification of movement synchrony strongly depends on parameter configuration and goes beyond the identification of synchrony by human raters. Differences between human-rated synchrony and nonverbal synchrony measured by algorithms are discussed.
Neural adaptation is central to sensation. Neurons in auditory midbrain, for example, rapidly adapt their firing rates to enhance coding precision of common sound intensities. However, it remains unknown whether this adaptation is fixed, or dynamic and dependent on experience. Here, using guinea pigs as animal models, we report that adaptation accelerates when an environment is re-encountered—in response to a sound environment that repeatedly switches between quiet and loud, midbrain neurons accrue experience to find an efficient code more rapidly. This phenomenon, which we term meta-adaptation, suggests a top–down influence on the midbrain. To test this, we inactivate auditory cortex and find acceleration of adaptation with experience is attenuated, indicating a role for cortex—and its little-understood projections to the midbrain—in modulating meta-adaptation. Given the prevalence of adaptation across organisms and senses, meta-adaptation might be similarly common, with extensive implications for understanding how neurons encode the rapidly changing environments of the real world.
During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship– or alliance– and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist’s brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another’s internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients’ emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains.
Interpersonal autonomic physiology is defined as the relationship between people's physiological dynamics, as indexed by continuous measures of the autonomic nervous system. Findings from this field of study indicate that physiological activity between two or more people can become associated or interdependent, often referred to as physiological synchrony. Physiological synchrony has been found in both new and established relationships across a range of contexts, and it correlates with a number of psychosocial constructs. Given these findings, interpersonal physiological interactions are theorized to be ubiquitous social processes that co-occur with observable behavior. However, this scientific literature is fragmented, making it difficult to evaluate consistency across reports. In an effort to facilitate more standardized scholarly approaches, this systematic review provides a description of existing work in the area and highlights theoretical, methodological, and statistical issues to be addressed in future interpersonal autonomic physiology research.
Moving in synchrony leads to cooperative behaviour and feelings of social closeness, and dance (involving synchronisation to others and music) may cause social bonding, possibly as a consequence of released endorphins. This study uses an experimental paradigm to determine which aspects of synchrony in dance are associated with changes in pain threshold (a proxy for endorphin release) and social bonding between strangers. Those who danced in synchrony experienced elevated pain thresholds, whereas those in the partial and asynchrony conditions experienced no analgesic effects. Similarly, those in the synchrony condition reported being more socially bonded, although they did not perform more cooperatively in an economic game. This experiment suggests that dance encourages social bonding amongst co-actors by stimulating the production of endorphins, but may not make people more altruistic. We conclude that dance may have been an important human behaviour evolved to encourage social closeness between strangers.
This chapter aims at investigating the phenomenology of joint action and at gaining a better understanding of (1) how the sense of agency one experiences when engaged in a joint action differs from the sense of agency one has for individual actions and (2) how the sense of agency one experiences when engaged in a joint action differs according to the type of joint action and to the role one plays in it.
Human interaction often requires simultaneous precision and flexibility in the coordination of rhythmic behaviour between individuals engaged in joint activity, for example, playing a musical duet or dancing with a partner. This review article addresses the psychological processes and brain mechanisms that enable such rhythmic interpersonal coordination. First, an overview is given of research on the cognitive-motor processes that enable individuals to represent joint action goals and to anticipate, attend and adapt to other's actions in real time. Second, the neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin rhythmic interpersonal coordination are sought in studies of sensorimotor and cognitive processes that play a role in the representation and integration of self- and other-related actions within and between individuals' brains. Finally, relationships between social-psychological factors and rhythmic interpersonal coordination are considered from two perspectives, one concerning how social-cognitive tendencies (e.g. empathy) affect coordination, and the other concerning how coordination affects interpersonal affiliation, trust and prosocial behaviour. Our review highlights musical ensemble performance as an ecologically valid yet readily controlled domain for investigating rhythm in joint action.
Typically studies of the effects of aging on cognitive-motor performance emphasize changes in elderly populations. Although some research is directly concerned with when age-related decline actually begins, studies are often based on relatively simple reaction time tasks, making it impossible to gauge the impact of experience in compensating for this decline in a real world task. The present study investigates age-related changes in cognitive motor performance through adolescence and adulthood in a complex real world task, the real-time strategy video game StarCraft 2. In this paper we analyze the influence of age on performance using a dataset of 3,305 players, aged 16-44, collected by Thompson, Blair, Chen & Henrey [1]. Using a piecewise regression analysis, we find that age-related slowing of within-game, self-initiated response times begins at 24 years of age. We find no evidence for the common belief expertise should attenuate domain-specific cognitive decline. Domain-specific response time declines appear to persist regardless of skill level. A second analysis of dual-task performance finds no evidence of a corresponding age-related decline. Finally, an exploratory analyses of other age-related differences suggests that older participants may have been compensating for a loss in response speed through the use of game mechanics that reduce cognitive load.
Cooperation is intrinsic to the human ability to work together toward common goals, and depends on sensing and reacting to dynamically changing relationships between coacting partners. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a paradigm in which an adaptive pacing signal simulates a virtual partner, we examined the neural substrates underlying dynamic joint action. A single parameter controlled the degree to which the virtual partner adapted its behavior in relation to participant taps, thus simulating varying degrees of cooperativity. Analyses of fMRI data using objective and subjective measures of synchronization quality found the relative balance of activity in two distinct neural networks to depend on the degree of the virtual partner's adaptivity. At lower degrees of adaptivity, when the virtual partner was easier to synchronize with, cortical midline structures were activated in conjunction with premotor areas, suggesting a link between the action and socio-affective components of cooperation. By contrast, right lateral prefrontal areas associated with central executive control processes were recruited during more cognitively challenging interactions while synchronizing with an overly adaptive virtual partner. Together, the reduced adaptive sensorimotor synchronization paradigm and pattern of results illuminate neural mechanisms that may underlie the socio-emotional consequences of different degrees of entrainment success.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to find out whether the simple reaction time was faster for auditory or visual stimulus and the factors responsible for improving the performance of the athlete. Methodology: 14 subjects were as-signed randomly into groups consisting of 2 members. Both the members from each group performed both the visual and auditory tests. The tests were taken from the DirectRT software program from a laptop. The DirectRT software consists of Testlabvisual and Testlabsounds to test the reaction times to visual and auditory stimuli. The 2 members from each group completed both the visual and auditory reaction times, the data was taken and the mean reaction time was calculated excluding the first and last values. Results: The results show that the mean visual reaction time is around 331 milliseconds as compared to the mean auditory reaction time of around 284 milliseconds. Conclusion: This shows that the auditory reaction time is faster than the visual reaction time. And also males have faster reaction times when compared to females for both auditory as well as visual stimuli.
The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony--the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement--in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome.
Using an automated objective video analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis; MEA), the authors calculated nonverbal synchrony in (n = 104) videotaped psychotherapy sessions from 70 Caucasian patients (37 women, 33 men, mean age = 36.5 years, SD = 10.2) treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic. The sample was randomly drawn from an archive (N = 301) of routinely videotaped psychotherapies. Patients and their therapists assessed session impact with self-report post-session questionnaires. A battery of pre- and postsymptomatology questionnaires measured therapy effectiveness.
The authors found that nonverbal synchrony is higher in genuine interactions contrasted with pseudointeractions (a control condition generated by a specifically designed shuffling procedure). Furthermore, nonverbal synchrony is associated with session-level process as well as therapy outcome: It is increased in sessions rated by patients as manifesting high relationship quality and in patients experiencing high self-efficacy. Higher nonverbal synchrony characterized psychotherapies with higher symptom reduction.
The results suggest that nonverbal synchrony embodies the patients' self-reported quality of the relationship and further variables of therapy process. This hitherto overlooked facet of therapeutic relationships might prove useful as an indicator of therapy progress and outcome.
Although evidence has suggested that synchronized movement can foster cooperation, the ability of synchrony to increase costly altruism and to operate as a function of emotional mechanisms remains unexplored. We predicted that synchrony, due to an ability to elicit low-level appraisals of similarity, would enhance a basic compassionate response toward victims of moral transgressions and thereby increase subsequent costly helping behavior on their behalf. Using a manipulation of rhythmic synchrony, we show that synchronous others are not only perceived to be more similar to oneself but also evoke more compassion and altruistic behavior than asynchronous others experiencing the same plight. These findings both support the view that a primary function of synchrony is to mark others as similar to the self and provide the first empirical demonstration that synchrony-induced affiliation modulates emotional responding and altruism.
The tendency to mimic and synchronize with others is well established. Although mimicry has been shown to lead to affiliation between co-actors, the effect of interpersonal synchrony on affiliation remains an open question. The authors investigated the relationship by having participants match finger movements with a visual moving metronome. In Experiment 1, affiliation ratings were examined based on the extent to which participants tapped in synchrony with the experimenter. In Experiment 2, synchrony was manipulated. Affiliation ratings were compared for an experimenter who either (a) tapped to a metronome that was synchronous to the participant's metronome, (b) tapped to a metronome that was asynchronous, or (c) did not tap. As hypothesized, in both studies, the degree of synchrony predicted subsequent affiliation ratings. Experiment 3 found that the affiliative effects were unique to interpersonal synchrony.
Armies, churches, organizations, and communities often engage in activities-for example, marching, singing, and dancing-that lead group members to act in synchrony with each other. Anthropologists and sociologists have speculated that rituals involving synchronous activity may produce positive emotions that weaken the psychological boundaries between the self and the group. This article explores whether synchronous activity may serve as a partial solution to the free-rider problem facing groups that need to motivate their members to contribute toward the collective good. Across three experiments, people acting in synchrony with others cooperated more in subsequent group economic exercises, even in situations requiring personal sacrifice. Our results also showed that positive emotions need not be generated for synchrony to foster cooperation. In total, the results suggest that acting in synchrony with others can increase cooperation by strengthening social attachment among group members.
The amount of time viewers could process a scene during eye fixations was varied by a mask that appeared at a certain point in each eye fixation. The scene did not reappear until the viewer made an eye movement. The main finding in the studies was that in order to normally process a scene, viewers needed to see the scene for at least 150 ms during each eye fixation. This result is surprising because viewers can extract the gist of a scene from a brief 40- to 100-ms exposure. It also stands in marked contrast to reading, as readers need only to view the words in the text for 50 to 60 ms to read normally. Thus, although the same neural mechanisms control eye movements in scene perception and reading, the cognitive processes associated with each task drive processing in different ways.
A 'simulation' theory of cognitive function can be based on three assumptions about brain function. First, behaviour can be simulated by activating motor structures, as during an overt action but suppressing its execution. Second, perception can be simulated by internal activation of sensory cortex, as during normal perception of external stimuli. Third, both overt and covert actions can elicit perceptual simulation of their normal consequences. A large body of evidence supports these assumptions. It is argued that the simulation approach can explain the relations between motor, sensory and cognitive functions and the appearance of an inner world.
Adaptation is sometimes viewed as a process in which the nervous system learns to predict and cancel effects of a novel environment, returning movements to near baseline (unperturbed) conditions. An alternate view is that cancellation is not the goal of adaptation. Rather, the goal is to maximize performance in that environment. If performance criteria are well defined, theory allows one to predict the reoptimized trajectory. For example, if velocity-dependent forces perturb the hand perpendicular to the direction of a reaching movement, the best reach plan is not a straight line but a curved path that appears to overcompensate for the forces. If this environment is stochastic (changing from trial to trial), the reoptimized plan should take into account this uncertainty, removing the overcompensation. If the stochastic environment is zero-mean, peak velocities should increase to allow for more time to approach the target. Finally, if one is reaching through a via-point, the optimum plan in a zero-mean deterministic environment is a smooth movement but in a zero-mean stochastic environment is a segmented movement. We observed all of these tendencies in how people adapt to novel environments. Therefore, motor control in a novel environment is not a process of perturbation cancellation. Rather, the process resembles reoptimization: through practice in the novel environment, we learn internal models that predict sensory consequences of motor commands. Through reward-based optimization, we use the internal model to search for a better movement plan to minimize implicit motor costs and maximize rewards.
In this paper we discuss the issue of the processes potentially underlying the emergence of emotional consciousness in the light of theoretical considerations and empirical evidence. First, we argue that componential emotion models, and specifically the Component Process Model (CPM), may be better able to account for the emergence of feelings than basic emotion or dimensional models. Second, we advance the hypothesis that consciousness of emotional reactions emerges when lower levels of processing are not sufficient to cope with the event and regulate the emotional process, particularly when the degree of synchronization between the components reaches a critical level and duration. Third, we review recent neuroscience evidence that bolsters our claim of the central importance of the synchronization of neuronal assemblies at different levels of processing.
For a video presentation, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRUzrkf1mW4. When people interact, their behaviour tends to become synchronized, a mutual coordination process that fosters short-term adaptations, like increased affiliation, and long-term adaptations, like increased bonding. This paper addresses for the first time how such short-term and long-term adaptivity induced by synchronization can be modeled computationally by a second-order multi-adaptive neural agent model. It addresses movement, affect and verbal modalities and both intrapersonal synchrony and interpersonal synchrony. The behaviour of the introduced neural agent model was evaluated in a simulation paradigm with different stimuli and communication enabling conditions. The outcomes illustrate how synchrony leads to stronger short-term affiliation which in turn leads to more synchrony and stronger long-term bonding, and conversely.
People spontaneously synchronize their mental states and behavioral actions when they interact. This paper models general mechanisms that can lead to the emergence of interpersonal synchrony by multiple agents with internal cognitive and affective states. In our simulations, one agent was exposed to a repeated stimulus and the other agent started to synchronize consecutively its movements, affects, conscious emotions and verbal actions with the exposed agent. The behavior displayed by the agents was consistent with theory and empirical evidence from the psychological and neuroscience literature. These results shed new light on the emergence of interpersonal synchrony in a wide variety of settings, from close relationships to psychotherapy. Moreover, the present work could provide a basis for future development of socially responsive virtual agents.
Joint decision-making can be seen as the synchronization of actions and emotions, usually via nonverbal interaction between people while they show empathy. The aim of the current paper was (1) to develop an adaptive computational model for the type of synchrony that can occur in joint decision-making for two persons modeled as agents, and (2) to visualize the two persons by avatars as virtual agents during their decision-making. How to model joint decision-making computationally while taking into account adaptivity is rarely addressed, although such models based on psychological literature have a lot of future applications like online coaching and therapeutics. We used an adaptive network-oriented modelling approach to build an adaptive joint decision-making model in an agent-based manner and simulated multiple scenarios of such joint decision-making processes using a dedicated software environment that was implemented in MATLAB. Programming in the Unity 3D engine was done to virtualize this process as nonverbal interaction between virtual agents, their internal and external states, and the scenario. Although our adaptive joint decision model has general application areas, we have selected a therapeutic session as example scenario to visualize and interpret the example simulations.
Nonverbal synchrony describes coordination of the nonverbal behavior of two interacting partners. Additionally, it seems to be important in human interactions, such as during psychotherapy. Currently, there are several options for the automated determination of synchrony based on linear time series analysis methods (TSAMs). However, investigations into whether the different methods measure the same construct have been missing. In this study, N = 84 patient–therapist dyads were videotaped during psychotherapy sessions. Motion energy analysis was used to assess body movements. We applied seven different TSAMs and recorded multiple output scores (average synchrony, maximum synchrony, and frequency of synchrony; in total, N = 16 scores). Convergent validity was examined using correlations of the output scores and exploratory factor analysis. Additionally, two criterion-based validations were conducted: investigations of concordant validity with a more generalized nonlinear method, and of the predictive validity of the synchrony scores for improvement in interpersonal problems at the end of therapy. We found that the synchrony measures only partially correlated with each other. The factor analysis did not support a common-factor model. A three-factor model with a second-order synchrony variable showed the best fit for eight of the selected synchrony scores. Only some synchrony scores were able to predict improvement at the end of therapy. We concluded that the considered TSAMs do not measure the same synchrony construct, but different facets of synchrony: the strength of synchrony of the total interaction, the strength of synchrony during synchronization intervals, and the frequency of synchrony.
Training rats in a particularly difficult olfactory discrimination task initiates a period of accelerated learning of other odors, manifested as a dramatic increase in the rats' capacity to acquire memories for new odors once they have learned the first discrimination task, implying that rule learning has taken place.
At the cellular level, pyramidal neurons in the piriform cortex, hippocampus and bsolateral amygdala of olfactory-discrimination trained rats show enhanced intrinsic neuronal excitability that lasts for several days after rule learning. Such enhanced intrinsic excitability is mediated by long-term reduction in the post-burst after-hyperpolarization (AHP) which is generated by repetitive spike firing, and is maintained by persistent activation of key second messenger systems. Much like late-LTP, the induction of long-term modulation of intrinsic excitability is protein synthesis dependent. Learning-induced modulation of intrinsic excitability can be bi-directional, pending of the valance of the outcome of the learned task.
In this review we describe the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the rule learning-induced long-term enhancement in neuronal excitability and discuss the functional significance of such a wide spread modulation of the neurons' ability to sustain repetitive spike generation.
Creative cognition is key to human functioning yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are sparsely addressed and poorly understood. Here we address the possibility that creative cognition is a function of dopaminergic modulation in fronto-striatal brain circuitries. It is proposed that (i) creative cognition benefits from both flexible and persistent processing, (ii) striatal dopamine and the integrity of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway is associated with flexible processing, while (iii) prefrontal dopamine and the integrity of the mesocortical dopaminergic pathway is associated with persistent processing. We examine this possibility in light of studies linking creative ideation, divergent thinking, and creative problem-solving to polymorphisms in dopamine receptor genes, indirect markers and manipulations of the dopaminergic system, and clinical populations with dysregulated dopaminergic activity. Combined, studies suggest a functional differentiation between striatal and prefrontal dopamine: moderate (but not low or high) levels of striatal dopamine benefit creative cognition by facilitating flexible processes, and moderate (but not low or high) levels of prefrontal dopamine enable persistence-driven creativity.
Objective:
The social present is a novel descriptor of dyadic nowness and social sharing, extending research on individual nowness (James' specious present) to the interpersonal and intersubjective domain. We wished to connect this descriptor to personality attributes.
Method:
We define the social present by the duration of significant nonverbal synchrony, based on the phenomenon of movement synchrony that generally emerges in social interactions. It is thus an implicit and objective measure that can be implemented by automated video analyses. N=168 healthy participants were invited to verbal conversations in same-sex dyads. We analyzed the associations of the social present with personality attributes and interaction types (competition, cooperation, fun-task).
Results:
The average duration of the social present was 6.0 seconds, highest in competitive interactions and in male-male dyads. People with higher openness to experience, higher avoidant attachment, and lower narcissistic interpersonal styles showed extended social present in their interactions.
Conclusions:
The concept of social present extends personality attributes to the interpersonal domain and to intersubjectivity. The social present may be computed based on movement synchrony but also prosodic or physiological synchronies. We foresee implications for health-related interactions such as psychotherapy, where therapeutic presence is an essential property of alliance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Evidence for synaptic homeostatic plasticity has been gathered in systems including mammalian cortical neurons and the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila melanogaster. Manipulations that either increase or decrease synaptic activity are accompanied by alterations in synaptic strength over the course of several hours that counteract the changes in activity. Manipulations in vitro include the use of antagonists of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission or pharmacological agents that increase or decrease intrinsic excitability of presynaptic neurons. Synaptic homeostasis has also been observed in vivo in response to changes in network activity due to sensory experience, pharmacological agents or genetic manipulations. Synaptic strength is correlated with the shape and size of pre-synaptic structures (such as the neuromuscular bouton) and post-synaptic structures (such as dendritic spines). This has enabled the characterization of homeostatic synaptic plasticity in terms of the quantity and size of these structures, which is an example of a more general phenomenon known as structural plasticity (see Kirov & Harris, 1999).
The relationship between client-perceived rapport (as measured from a standardized client) and physical mirroring and the standard counsellor posture was investigated with interviews performed by 59 post-graduate students in counselling psychology. Videotaped recordings were used to code counsellor posture in the categories of: total postural mirroring, mirroring of the hands and arms, mirroring of the legs, mirroring of the torso, and the frequency of the standard counsellor posture across each minute of the interviews. These minutes were classified as 'high' in rapport or 'low' in rapport as measured by the standardized client. Results indicated that there was significantly more postural mirroring of the torso during high versus low minutes, but that the counsellor standard posture occurred significantly more frequently during low rapport minutes than in high rapport minutes. However, when examined over the entire length of the interviews, these data were able to be understood in terms of counsellor 'flexibility' of response rather than simply whether these postural behaviours were present or not. Implications for counsellor training are discussed.
Although evidence has suggested that coordinated action enhances rapport and fosters cooperation, the possibility that it might also influence the ability to pursue joint goals has yet to be demonstrated. We show that rocking in synchrony enhanced individuals’ perceptual sensitivity to the motion of other entities and thereby increased their success in a subsequent joint-action task that required the ability to dynamically detect and respond appropriately to a partner’s movements. These findings support the view that in addition to fostering social cohesion, synchrony hones the abilities that allow individuals to functionally direct their cooperative motives.
Humans are the only primates that make music. But the evolutionary origins and functions of music are unclear. Given that in traditional cultures music making and dancing are often integral parts of important group ceremonies such as initiation rites, weddings or preparations for battle, one hypothesis is that music evolved into a tool that fosters social bonding and group cohesion, ultimately increasing prosocial in-group behavior and cooperation. Here we provide support for this hypothesis by showing that joint music making among 4-year-old children increases subsequent spontaneous cooperative and helpful behavior, relative to a carefully matched control condition with the same level of social and linguistic interaction but no music. Among other functional mechanisms, we propose that music making, including joint singing and dancing, encourages the participants to keep a constant audiovisual representation of the collective intention and shared goal of vocalizing and moving together in time — thereby effectively satisfying the intrinsic human desire to share emotions, experiences and activities with others.
Discusses neural activity and stimulation crucial in fetal brain development and the formation of the mind. Focuses on activity-dependent remodeling related to development of the visual system and retinal activity. (MCO)
In this paper, we review experimental evidence for a novel form of persistent synaptic plasticity we call metaplasticity. Metaplasticity is induced by synaptic or cellular activity, but it is not necessarily expressed as a change in the efficacy of normal synaptic transmission. Instead, it is manifest as a change in the ability to induce subsequent synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation or depression. Thus, metaplasticity is a higher-order form of synaptic plasticity. Metaplasticity might involve alterations in NMDA-receptor function in some cases, but there are many other candidate mechanisms. The induction of metaplasticity complicates the interpretation of many commonly studied aspects of synaptic plasticity, such as saturation and biochemical correlates.
How does the brain integrate information from different senses into a unitary percept? What factors influence such multisensory integration? Using a rhythmic behavioral paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we identified networks of brain regions for perceptions of physically synchronous and asynchronous auditory-visual events. Measures of behavioral performance revealed the existence of three distinct perceptual states. Perception of asynchrony activated a network of the primary sensory, prefrontal, and inferior parietal cortices, perception of synchrony disengaged the inferior parietal cortex and further recruited the superior colliculus, and when no clear percept was established, only the residual areas comprised of prefrontal and sensory areas were active. These results indicate that distinct percepts arise within specific brain sub-networks, the components of which are differentially engaged and disengaged depending on the timing of environmental signals.
An adaptive cognitive-social model for mirroring and social bonding during synchronous joint action
- M Accetto
- J Treur
- V Villa
Accetto, M., Treur, J., Villa, V.: An adaptive cognitive-social model for mirroring and social
bonding during synchronous joint action. Proc. BICA 2018. Procedia Computer Science, vol.
145, pp. 3-12 (2018)
Modeling multi-order adaptive processes by self-modeling networks (Keynote Speech)
- J Treur
Treur, J.: Modeling multi-order adaptive processes by self-modeling networks (Keynote Speech).
In: Tallón-Ballesteros, A.J., Chen, C.-H. (eds.) Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference
on Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems, MLIS 2020. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence
and Applications, vol. 332, p. 206-217. IOS Press (2020b)
Analysis of verbal and nonverbal communication and enactment. The processing issues
- U Altmann
- A Esposito
- A Vinciarelli
- K Vicsi
- C Pelachaud
Altmann, U.: Investigation of movement synchrony using windowed cross-lagged regression. In:
Esposito, A., Vinciarelli, A., Vicsi, K., Pelachaud, C., Nijholt, A. (eds.) Analysis of verbal and
nonverbal communication and enactment. The processing issues. LNCS, vol. 6800, pp. 335-345. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25775-9_31
Quantifying physiological synchrony through windowed cross-correlation analysis: Statistical and theoretical considerations
- F Behrens
- R G Moulder
- S M Boker
- M E Kret
Behrens, F., Moulder, R.G., Boker, S.M., Kret, M.E.: Quantifying physiological synchrony through
windowed cross-correlation analysis: Statistical and theoretical considerations. BioRxiv (2020)