"Stay tuned": inter-individual neural synchronization during mutual gaze and joint attention

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Saito, Daisuke N, Tanabe, Hiroki C, Izuma, Keise, Hayashi, Masamichi J, Morito, Yusuke, Komeda, Hidetsugu, Uchiyama, Hitoshi, Kosaka, Hirotaka, Okazawa, Hidehiko, Fujibayashi, Yasuhisa and Sadato, Norihiro (2010) "Stay tuned": inter-individual neural synchronization during mutual gaze and joint attention. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 4. p. 127. ISSN 1662-5145

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Abstract

Eye contact provides a communicative link between humans, prompting joint attention. As spontaneous brain activity might have an important role in the coordination of neuronal processing within the brain, their inter-subject synchronization might occur during eye contact. To test this, we conducted simultaneous functional MRI in pairs of adults. Eye contact was maintained at baseline while the subjects engaged in real-time gaze exchange in a joint attention task. Averted gaze activated the bilateral occipital pole extending to the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, the dorso-medial prefrontal cortex, and the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus. Following a partner's gaze toward an object activated the left intraparietal sulcus. After all the task-related effects were modeled out, inter-individual correlation analysis of residual time-courses was performed. Paired subjects showed more prominent correlations than non-paired subjects in the right inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting that this region is involved in sharing intention during eye contact that provides the context for joint attention.

Item Type: Article
Schools and Departments: School of Psychology > Psychology
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF0180 Experimental psychology
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Depositing User: Dr Masamichi Hayashi
Date Deposited: 10 Mar 2014 08:27
Last Modified: 07 Mar 2017 13:23
URI: http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/47805

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