A Multi-Brain Framework for Social Interaction

Social interaction can be seen as a dynamic feedback loop that couples action, reaction, and internal cognitive processes across individual agents. A fuller understanding of the social brain requires a description of how the neural dynamics across coupled brains are linked and how they coevolve over time. We elaborate a multi-brain framework that considers social interaction as an integrated network of neural systems that dynamically shape behavior, shared cognitive states, and social relationships. We describe key findings from multi-brain experiments in humans and animal models that shed new light on the function of social circuits in health and disease. Finally, we discuss recent progress in elucidating the cellular-level mechanisms underlying inter-brain neural dynamics and outline key areas for future research. Social interaction engages individuals directly with one another, coupling them in a dynamic feedback loop of action and reaction. A new conceptual framework, which views interacting agents as embedded in an integrated system, focuses attention on the emergent neural properties of multiple brains as they coordinate across individuals during social interaction.Inter-brain neural dynamics that arise across brains of interacting individuals provide neural correlates of shared social variables, including coordinated behavior, shared cognitive or affective states, and relational states such as dominance or familial relationships.Recent work extends the view of inter-brain dynamics to include their study in animal model systems, revealing the existence of inter-brain synchronization across diverse species. Invasive recording techniques and molecular tools that are available in animal models shed new light on the specific circuit-level mechanisms underlying inter-brain dynamics.