Abstract
Traditional human neuroscience solely relies on controlled laboratory paradigms, which, while useful, fail to capture the situatedness, sociality, complexity, and richness of real-world interactions. Hence, understanding how the human brain processes social interactions across varying contexts is essential for advancing human neuroscience. The present study investigated the dynamics of µ (8–13 Hz) and β (13–30 Hz) EEG rhythms, neural markers of sensorimotor and cognitive engagement, across a four-tier scalable experimental design. Participants engaged in tasks ranging from simple hand-gesture observation (Experiment 1) to real-world Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) gameplay under naturalistic hyperscanning conditions (Experiment 4). Experiments 2 and 3 were physically the same as Experiment 1, but participants played against a simulated artificial intelligence (AI) and a simulated human. As expected, gameplay against simulated opponents elicited robust µ and β event-related desynchronization (ERD), reflecting heightened sensorimotor resonance and cognitive control. In contrast, real-world RPS gameplay between human dyads revealed attenuated µ and β ERD, coupled with enhanced γ synchronization. We interpret these findings as a redistribution of neural resources in naturalistic settings, emphasizing distributed and adaptive processing over localized responses. The present work provides novel insights into the brain's adaptive mechanisms during real-world social interactions and highlights the importance of contextual complexity in shaping neural dynamics.
Authors
Parada, F. J., Grasso-Cladera, A., & Rossi, A.
https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/zunhr