Title
Shared neural representations of syntax during online dyadic communication.
Abstract
When people communicate, they come to see the world in a similar way to each other by aligning their mental representations at such levels as syntax. Syntax is an essential feature of human language that distinguishes humans from other non-human animals. However, whether and how communicators share neural representations of syntax is not well understood. Here we addressed this issue by measuring the brain activity of both communicators in a series of dyadic communication contexts, by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning. Two communicators alternatively spoke sentences either with the same or with different syntactic structures. Results showed a significantly higher-level increase of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) at right posterior superior temporal cortex when communicators produced the same syntactic structures as each other compared to when they produced different syntactic structures. These increases of INS correlated significantly with communication quality. Our findings provide initial evidence for shared neural representations of syntax between communicators.
Year
DOI
Venue
2019
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.035
NeuroImage
Keywords
Field
DocType
Neural synchronization,Syntax,Shared representation,Communication,fNIRS
Communication quality,Interpersonal communication,Cognitive psychology,Psychology,Brain activity and meditation,Right posterior,Syntax,Mental representation
Journal
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
198
1053-8119
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
10
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Wenda Liu100.34
Holly P. Branigan2285.27
Lifen Zheng300.34
Yuhang Long400.34
Xialu Bai500.34
Kanyu Li600.34
Hui Zhao72612.98
Siyuan Zhou8497.27
Martin J. Pickering9508.71
Chun-Ming Lu10312.80