Electroencephalographic interbrain synchronization in children with disabilities, their parents, and neurologic music therapists

Abstract

As with typically developing children, children with cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder develop important socio-emotional rapport with their parents and healthcare providers. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these relationships have been less studied. By simultaneously measuring the brain activity of multiple individuals, interbrain synchronization could serve as a neurophysiological marker of social-emotional responses. Music evokes emotional and physiological responses and enhances social cohesion. These characteristics of music have fostered its deployment as a therapeutic medium in clinical settings. Therefore, this study investigated two aspects of interbrain synchronization, namely, its phase and directionality, in child-parent (CP) and child-therapist (CT) dyads during music and storytelling sessions (as a comparison). A total of 17 participants (seven cerebral palsy or autism spectrum disorder children [aged 12-18 years], their parents, and three neurologic music therapists) completed this study, comprising seven CP and seven CT dyads. Each music therapist worked with two or three children. We found that session type, dyadic relationship, frequency band, and brain region were significantly related to the degree of interbrain synchronization and its directionality. Particularly, music sessions and CP dyads were associated with higher interbrain synchronization and stronger directionality. Delta (.5-4 Hz) range showed the highest phase locking value in both CP and CT dyads in frontal brain regions. It appears that synchronization is directed predominantly from parent to child, that is, parents and music therapists' brain activity tended to influence a child's. Our findings encourage further research into

Neurodynamics of Relational Aesthetic Engagement in Creative Arts Therapies

“…Spontaneous INS may emerge from behavioral synchrony during social interaction (Koul et al, 2023), modulated by oxytocin (Josef et al, 2019), and fostered by the relational aesthetic engagement in CATs. This interpersonal phenomenon is clinically highly relevant for inducing psychotherapeutic change, which has been shown, for example, in conditions associated with social impairments, such as autism spectrum disorder (Kang et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021). Through inter-brain synchrony in shared moments of connection, the attuned therapist's brain activity might influence the patient's brain activity (Kang et al, 2023;Maidhof et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021;Tucek et al, 2022).…”

“…Engagement in aesthetic experiences in the relational therapeutic environment of CATs holds significant potential in the context of synchronization. Indeed, recent studies have begun investigating brain-to-brain coupling in the context of CATs, examining moment-to-moment inter-brain synchrony during music therapy sessions involving various pairs, including a child with disabilities (cerebral palsy or autism spectrum disorder) and the parent/therapist (Kang et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021), a stroke rehabilitation patient and therapist (Tucek et al, 2022), and a person with dementia and a therapist (Maidhof et al, 2023).…”

“…This interpersonal phenomenon is clinically highly relevant for inducing psychotherapeutic change, which has been shown, for example, in conditions associated with social impairments, such as autism spectrum disorder (Kang et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021). Through inter-brain synchrony in shared moments of connection, the attuned therapist's brain activity might influence the patient's brain activity (Kang et al, 2023;Maidhof et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021;Tucek et al, 2022). In such interaction, the therapist's "loaning" of brain functions may serve as a means to enter the predictive moment, mobilizing the active inference in the context of intimate relationships (Holmes & Nolte, 2019;Vaisvaser, 2021).…”

“…The restrictions of brain imaging technologies traditionally used in neuroaesthetics research (e.g., fMRI) can be overcome with mobile neuroimaging. Some of these devices have been used in CATs studies, such as functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) (e.g., Feng et al, 2019;Yan et al, 2021) and electroencephalography (EEG) (e.g., Fachner et al, 2019;Kang et al, 2023;Maidhof et al, 2023;Samadani et al, 2021;Tang et al, 2022;Tucek et al, 2022;Ventouras et al, 2015). Yet, the embodied nature of aesthetic experiences emphasizes the role of the body in emotional and mental processes and, therefore, calls for the use of mobile technology such as Mobile Brain-Body Imaging (MoBI).…”