Complex hyper-brain networks emerge during kissing
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1
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Germany
Kissing serves an evolutionarily important function by bringing together two people who are falling in love. Compared to other types of social interaction such as music making, card playing, or various imitation tasks, kissing is based on very strong reciprocal sensory and motor connections involving afferent and efferent feedback loops. Recent research has indicated that neural mechanisms of human social interaction are based on intra- and inter-brain coupling. However, little, if anything, is known about inter-brain synchrony while kissing and how such synchrony patterns, if any, are organized in so-called hyper-brain networks binding two brains together. Here, we investigate hyper-brain network topology based on cross-frequency coupling (CFC) and show how this network topology is related to subjective partner-oriented kissing satisfaction. Using EEG hyper-brain scanning (simultaneous EEG recordings in two people), we examined intra- and inter-brain phase synchronization in 15 romantic couples during three different kissing conditions: (a) normal romantic kissing, (b) kissing while performing a silent arithmetic task, and (c) kissing one's own hand. We used a new method of network construction based on CFC allowing investigation of complex frequency interplay within a common hyper-brain network. Using network analyses, we identified theta-alpha subnetworks binding together the two brains of kissing partners, with alpha frequency setting the pace for the hyper-brain network. Higher network strength during normal kissing as compared to the two control kissing conditions was accompanied by shorter characteristic path length indicating stronger integration within the network. We also report empirical evidence that links subjective partner-oriented kissing satisfaction to hyper-brain network properties. This study shows that data acquisition and analysis methods for simultaneous EEG recordings from multiple persons are important tools to examine inter-brain oscillatory couplings during interpersonal interactions.
Keywords:
social interaction,
Cross-frequency coupling,
Kissing,
interpersonal action coordination,
intra- and inter-brain synchronization
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Emotional and Social Processes
Citation:
Müller
V and
Lindenberger
U
(2015). Complex hyper-brain networks emerge during kissing.
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00270
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Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Viktor Müller, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Berlin, Germany, vmueller@mpib-berlin.mpg.de