Visualizing the invisible tie: Linking parent-child neural synchrony to parents' and children's attachment representations.

It is a central tenet of attachment theory that individual differences in attachment representations organize behavior during social interactions. Secure attachment representations also facilitate behavioral synchrony, a key component of adaptive parent-child interactions. Yet, the dynamic neural processes underlying these interactions and the potential role of attachment representations remain largely unknown. A growing body of research indicates that interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) could be a potential neurobiological correlate of high interaction and relationship quality. In this study, we examined whether interpersonal neural and behavioral synchrony during parent-child interaction is associated with parent and child attachment representations. In total, 140 parents (74 mothers and 66 fathers) and their children (age 5-6 years; 60 girls and 80 boys) engaged in cooperative versus individual problem-solving. INS in frontal and temporal regions was assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. Attachment representations were ascertained by means of the Adult Attachment Interview in parents and a story-completion task in children, alongside video-coded behavioral synchrony. Findings revealed increased INS during cooperative versus individual problem solving across all dyads (?2(2) = 9.37, p = 0.009). Remarkably, individual differences in attachment representations were associated with INS but not behavioral synchrony (p > 0.159) during cooperation. More specifically, insecure maternal attachment representations were related to higher mother-child INS in frontal regions (?2(3) = 9.18, p = 0.027). Conversely, secure daughter attachment representations were related to higher daughter-parent INS within temporal regions (?2(3) = 12.58, p = 0.006). Our data thus provide further indication for INS as a promising correlate to probe the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment representations in the context of early parent-child interactions. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We assessed attachment representations using narrative measures and interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) during parent-child problem-solving. Dyads including mothers with insecure attachment representations showed higher INS in left prefrontal regions. Dyads including daughters with secure attachment representations showed higher INS in right temporo-parietal regions. INS is a promising correlate to probe the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment representations in the context of parent-child interactions, especially within the mutual prediction framework.

Nguyen T ，Kungl MT ，Hoehl S ，White LO ，Vrtička P ... -  《-》

Eye of the beholder: Neural synchrony of dynamically changing relations between parent praise and child affect.

In this study, we aimed to determine the role of parental praise and child affect in the neural processes underlying parent-child interactions, utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning. We characterized the dynamic changes in interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) between parents and children (4-6 years old, n = 40 dyads) during a cognitively challenging task. We then examined how changes in parent-child INS are influenced by parental feedback and child affect. Parent-child INS showed a quadratic change over time, indicating a decelerated decline during the interaction period. The relationship of parental praise, in the form of positive feedback, to change in INS was contingent upon the child's positive affect during the task. The highest levels of INS were observed when praise was present and child affect was positive. The left temporo-parietal regions of the child and the right dorsolateral prefrontal and right temporo-parietal regions of the parent demonstrated the strongest INS. The dynamic change in INS during the interaction was associated with children's independent performance on a standardized test of visuospatial processing. This research, leveraging fNIRS hyperscanning, elucidates the neural dynamics underlying the interaction between parent praise and child positive affect, thereby contributing to our broader understanding of parent-child dynamics. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The level of interpersonal neural synchrony between parents and children dynamically varies during a cognitively challenging (tangram) task. The left temporo-parietal regions of the child and the right dorsolateral prefrontal and right temporo-parietal regions of the parent demonstrate the strongest parent-child neural synchrony. The relationship between parental praise (positive feedback) and parent-child neural synchrony is contingent upon child positive affect during the task. Change in parent-child neural synchrony relates to children's performance on an independent visuospatial processing measure.

Li Y ，Halleck TQ ，Evans L ，Bassuk PB ，de la Paz L ，Demir-Lira ÖE ... -  《-》

Children's oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and neural synchrony in mother-child interactions: An fNIRS study.

Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) between mothers and children responds to the temporal similarity of brain signals in joint behavior between dyadic partners and is considered an important neural indicator of the formation of adaptive social interaction bonds. Parent-child interactions are particularly important for the development and maintenance of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children, but the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms are unknown. Therefore, in the current study we measured INS between mothers and children in interactions by using simultaneous functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), and explored its association with ODD symptoms in children. Seventy-two mother-child dyads were recruited to participate in the study, including 35 children with ODD and 37 healthy children to be used as a control. Each mother-child dyad was measured for neural activity in frontal, parietal, and temporal lobe regions while completing free-play as well as positive, and negative topic discussion tasks. We used Phase-locked value to calculate the synchrony strength and then used the K-means algorithm and k-space based alignment tests to confirm the specific patterns of parent-child synchrony in different brain areas. The results showed that, in free-play (right MFG and bilateral SFG), positive (left TPJ and bilateral SFGdor), and negative (bilateral SFGmed, right ANG, and left MFG) topic discussions, the mother-child pairs showed different patterns of INS. These specific INS patterns were significantly lower in the ODD group compared to the control group and were negatively associated with ODD symptoms in children. Network analyses showed that these INS patterns were connected to different nodes in the ODD symptom network. Our findings suggest that ODD mother-child dyads exhibit lower neural synchrony across a wide range of parent-child interactions. Neural synchrony in the context of interpersonal interactions provides new insights into understanding the neural mechanisms of ODD and can be used as an indicator of neural and socio-environmental factors in the network of psychological disorder symptoms.

Zhang W ，He T ，Zhou N ，Duan L ，Chi P ，Lin X ... -  《-》

Interpersonal Neural Synchrony During Father-Child Problem Solving: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Study.

Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) has been previously evidenced in mother-child interactions, yet findings concerning father-child interaction are wanting. The current experiment examined whether fathers and their 5- to 6-year-old children (N = 66) synchronize their brain activity during a naturalistic interaction, and addressed paternal and child factors related to INS. Compared to individual problem solving and rest, father-child dyads showed increased INS in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left temporo-parietal junction during cooperative problem solving. Furthermore, the father's attitude toward his role as a parent was positively related to INS during the cooperation condition. These results highlight the implication of the father's attitude to parenting in INS processes for the first time.

Nguyen T ，Schleihauf H ，Kungl M ，Kayhan E ，Hoehl S ，Vrtička P ... -  《-》

The effects of interaction quality on neural synchrony during mother-child problem solving.

Understanding others is fundamental to interpersonal coordination and successful cooperation. One mechanism posited to underlie both effective communication and behavioral coordination is interpersonal neural synchrony. Although presumably foundational for children's social development, research on neural synchrony in naturalistic caregiver-child interactions is lacking. Using dual-functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we examined the effects of interaction quality on neural synchrony during a problem-solving task in 42 dyads of mothers and their preschool children. In a cooperation condition, mothers and children were instructed to solve a tangram puzzle together. In an individual condition, mothers and children performed the same task alone with an opaque screen between them. Wavelet transform coherence (WTC) was used to assess the cross-correlation between the two fNIRS time series. Results revealed increased neural synchrony in bilateral prefrontal cortex and temporo-parietal areas during cooperative as compared to individual problem solving. Higher neural synchrony during cooperation correlated with higher behavioral reciprocity and neural synchrony predicted the dyad's problem-solving success beyond reciprocal behavior between mothers and children. State-like factors, such as maternal stress and child agency during the task, played a bigger role for neural synchronization than trait-like factors, such as child temperament. Our results emphasize neural synchrony as a biomarker for mother-child interaction quality. These findings further highlight the role of state-like factors in interpersonal synchronization processes linked to successful coordination with others and in the long-term might improve the understanding of others.

Nguyen T ，Schleihauf H ，Kayhan E ，Matthes D ，Vrtička P ，Hoehl S ... -  《-》