Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Cereb Cortex. 2013 Nov;23(11):2592-600. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhs243. Epub 2012 Aug 14.
Cooperation is intrinsic to the human ability to work together toward common goals, and depends on sensing and reacting to dynamically changing relationships between coacting partners. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a paradigm in which an adaptive pacing signal simulates a virtual partner, we examined the neural substrates underlying dynamic joint action. A single parameter controlled the degree to which the virtual partner adapted its behavior in relation to participant taps, thus simulating varying degrees of cooperativity. Analyses of fMRI data using objective and subjective measures of synchronization quality found the relative balance of activity in two distinct neural networks to depend on the degree of the virtual partner's adaptivity. At lower degrees of adaptivity, when the virtual partner was easier to synchronize with, cortical midline structures were activated in conjunction with premotor areas, suggesting a link between the action and socio-affective components of cooperation. By contrast, right lateral prefrontal areas associated with central executive control processes were recruited during more cognitively challenging interactions while synchronizing with an overly adaptive virtual partner. Together, the reduced adaptive sensorimotor synchronization paradigm and pattern of results illuminate neural mechanisms that may underlie the socio-emotional consequences of different degrees of entrainment success.
合作是人类共同实现目标的能力所固有的，依赖于对共同作用的伙伴之间动态变化的关系的感知和反应。我们使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和一种范式，其中自适应起搏信号模拟虚拟伙伴，研究了动态联合行动的神经基础。一个单一的参数控制虚拟伙伴根据参与者的点击来调整其行为的程度，从而模拟不同程度的合作性。使用客观和主观的同步质量测量对 fMRI 数据进行分析发现，两个不同神经网络活动的相对平衡取决于虚拟伙伴的适应性程度。在较低的适应性程度下，当虚拟伙伴更容易同步时，皮质中线结构与运动前区一起被激活，这表明合作的动作和社会情感成分之间存在联系。相比之下，在与过度适应的虚拟伙伴同步时，与中央执行控制过程相关的右侧外侧前额叶区域在认知挑战更大的互动中被招募。总之，减少的自适应运动同步范式和结果模式阐明了可能是不同程度的同步成功的社会情感后果的神经机制。
