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Investigating Neurophysiological Synchrony during Natural Conversation: A hyperscanning EEG study
Poster Session C, Thursday, October 1, 10:45 am - 12:45 pm, Wangari Maathai
This poster is part of the Sandbox Series.
Foivos Iliopoulos1, Nathalie Giroud2; 11Neurocomm lab, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland, 22National Center of Competence in Research, Evolving Language, Zürich, Switzerland, 33 Language & Medicine Competence Center, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Speech is a highly complex task requiring multisensory integration, neural tracking, and the synchronization of external and internal signals under continuous top-down cognitive control. While extensive research has examined speech at linguistic and phonetic levels, the alignment of underlying neural and physiological mechanisms—particularly during natural conversation—remains poorly understood. To address this, we developed an EEG hyperscanning platform that enables simultaneous measurement of two participants, assessing synchrony at both intraindividual (e.g., cardiac–neural–speech alignment) and interindividual (e.g., cortical synchrony between interlocutors) levels during speech tasks. This study investigates the relationship between speech, cardiac activity, and brain oscillatory dynamics in individuals engaged in dyadic conversation. We recorded EEG, ECG, high-quality video, audio, and eye-tracking data from 20 dyads of young healthy participants during two tasks: (1) a joint counting task designed to enhance interindividual synchrony through rhythmic turn-taking and simultaneous speaking, and (2) a natural conversation task. Our analyses focus on intraindividual synchrony among neural, cardiac, and speech activity, as well as on interindividual synchrony, comparing brain coherence between speakers across experimental conditions. In this poster/talk, we will primarily highlight EEG-derived results. Our findings aim to offer novel insights into the neural and physiological coordination that supports real-time speech production and interaction.
Topic Areas: Speech Motor Control, Speech Perception