social interaction
Research Papers
Interacting brains coming in sync through their minds: an interbrain neurofeedback study
Neurophysiological evidence shows that interpersonal action coordination is accompanied by interbrain synchronization (IBS). However, the functional significance of this association remains unclear. Using two experimental designs, we explored whether IBS is amenable to neurofeedback (NFB). Feedback was provided either as two balls approaching each other (so-called ball design), or as two pendula, each reflecting the oscillatory activity of one of the two participants (so-called pendulum design). The NFB was provided at delta (i.e., 2.5 Hz) and theta (i.e., 5 Hz) electroencephalography frequencies, and manipulated by enhanced and inverse feedback. We showed that the participants were able to increase IBS by using NFB, especially when it was fed back at the theta frequency. Apart from intra- and interbrain coupling, other oscillatory activities (e.g., power spectral density, peak amplitude, and peak frequency) also changed during the task compared with the rest. Moreover, all the measures showed specific correlations with the subjective postsurvey item scores, reflecting subjective feeling and appraisal. We conclude that the use of IBS for NFB might help in specifying the contribution of IBS to interpersonal action coordination and in providing important information about the neural mechanisms of social interaction and the causal dimension of IBS.
View Full Paper →An Effective Neurofeedback Intervention to Improve Social Interactions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Neurofeedback training (NFT) approaches were investigated to improve behavior, cognition and emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirteen children with ASD completed pre-/post-assessments and 16 NFT-sessions. The NFT was based on a game that encouraged social interactions and provided feedback based on imitation and emotional responsiveness. Bidirectional training of EEG mu suppression and enhancement (8–12 Hz over somatosensory cortex) was compared to the standard method of enhancing mu. Children learned to control mu rhythm with both methods and showed improvements in (1) electrophysiology: increased mu suppression, (2) emotional responsiveness: improved emotion recognition and spontaneous imitation, and (3) behavior: significantly better behavior in every-day life. Thus, these NFT paradigms improve aspects of behavior necessary for successful social interactions.
View Full Paper →Neuromodulation Integrating rTMS and Neurofeedback for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Study
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction, language, stereotyped behaviors, and restricted range of interests. In previous studies low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been used, with positive behavioral and electrophysiological results, for the experimental treatment in ASD. In this study we combined prefrontal rTMS sessions with electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback (NFB) to prolong and reinforce TMS-induced EEG changes. The pilot trial recruited 42 children with ASD (~14.5 years). Outcome measures included behavioral evaluations and reaction time test with event-related potential (ERP) recording. For the main goal of this exploratory study we used rTMS-neurofeedback combination (TMS-NFB, N = 20) and waitlist (WTL, N = 22) groups to examine effects of 18 sessions of integrated rTMS-NFB treatment or wait period) on behavioral responses, stimulus and response-locked ERPs, and other functional and clinical outcomes. The underlying hypothesis was that combined TMS-NFB will improve executive functions in autistic patients as compared to the WTL group. Behavioral and ERP outcomes were collected in pre- and post-treatment tests in both groups. Results of the study supported our hypothesis by demonstration of positive effects of combined TMS-NFB neurotherapy in active treatment group as compared to control WTL group, as the TMS-NFB group showed significant improvements in behavioral and functional outcomes as compared to the WTL group
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