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

Abstract

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, fatherchild 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.Stefanie Hoehl and Pascal Vrti cka contributed equally. We are grateful to the fathers and children who participated in the study. We also wish to thank our master student Laura Thomsen and all other research assistants for their help with data collection and video ratings.

A Guide to Parent-Child fNIRS Hyperscanning Data Processing and Analysis

“…In the current data set, we chose to focus on the analysis of HbO only, for both brevity and its consistent association with neural synchronization (e.g., [25,36,38]). However, we recommend repeating all analyses for HbR (and ideally Hb total) to derive a comprehensive picture of all possible neural synchronization processes [41].…”

“…fNIRS was simultaneously measured in both participants in bilateral temporo-parietal junction (left hemisphere: Channel 9-12; right hemisphere: Channel 13-16) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (left hemisphere: Channel 1-4; right hemisphere: Channel 5-8; see Figure 1B). For a full description of the study design, please refer to [25,26].…”

“…Based on earlier literature [25,26,34], visual inspection, and spectral analyses, a frequency band of interest needs to be identified. In previous publications on interpersonal neural synchrony during parent-child problem solving, the frequency band of 0.02-0.10 Hz (corresponding to ~10-50 s) was identified as most task-relevant.…”

“…We also need to better understand differences in interpersonal neural synchrony patterns, such as across distinct brain regions, interaction partners, and age. For example, there is emerging evidence that patterns of interpersonal neural synchrony in parent-child dyads seem to diverge for mothers and fathers, with fathers showing a more anatomically localized synchrony pattern [25]. Mothers, on the other hand, seem to show a more anatomically widespread synchrony pattern in frontal and temporal brain areas [26,36].…”

Interpersonal Synchrony in the Context of Caregiver-Child Interactions: A Document Co-citation Analysis

“…In the same year, Nguyen et al ( 2020c ) tried to extend such results to father-child social interactions. The authors observed neural synchronization between fathers and children's brains in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left temporo–parietal junction during cooperation.…”