Leahy, Octavia;
Kontaris, Emily;
Gunasekara, Natalie;
Hirsch, Joy;
Tachtsidis, Ilias;
(2025)
Environmental effects on inter-brain coupling: a systematic review.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
, 19
, Article 1627457. 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1627457.
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Abstract
Introduction: Environmental factors play a critical role in shaping social interactions, and emerging evidence suggests they may also influence inter-brain coupling (IBC). The main purpose of this paper is to systematically review how environmental variables influence IBC during hyperscanning studies of social interactions. Additionally, this article provides an overview of the experimental protocols employed and identifies both opportunities and challenges within this evolving field. / / Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic literature search in the PubMed and Scopus databases to identify relevant articles. Of the 106 articles initially identified, 7 met the inclusion criteria for this review. The selected articles are original research published up to February 2025, each employing hyperscanning techniques to observe IBC in response to manipulated environmental factors. Articles were excluded based on factors such as the absence of environmental manipulation or not measuring IBC as an outcome. / / Results: The findings reveal that IBC is significantly influenced by environmental factors such as interpersonal distance, background noise, virtual reality, and music. These factors modulate neural synchrony in brain regions critical for social cognition. / / Conclusion: The limited number of studies in this area reflects both the emerging nature of this research field and the challenges associated with experimental protocols and funding. Despite these limitations, this review underscores the crucial role of environmental factors in shaping IBC during social interactions. This growing field holds great potential for guiding the design of supportive social settings and targeted interventions that promote social cohesion and mental wellbeing.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Environmental effects on inter-brain coupling: a systematic review |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1627457 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1627457 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 Leahy, Kontaris, Gunasekara, Hirsch and Tachtsidis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
| Keywords: | functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), inter-brain coupling (IBC), hyperscanning, environment, social neuroscience, two-person neuroscience, EEG, neuroimaging |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212365 |
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