Sato Ren, Sato Hiroki
Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan.
Department of Bioscience and Engineering, College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 3;15(1):608. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-84602-x.
Online meetings have become increasingly prevalent, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Although they offer convenience and effectiveness in various contexts, there is a pertinent question about whether they truly replicate the richness of in-person communication. This study delves into the distinctions between online and face-to-face interactions, with a particular focus on the synchronization of brain activity. Previous research has indicated a connection between synchronization and the quality of communication. Therefore, our hypothesis posits that face-to-face interactions lead to greater brain synchronization compared to online interactions, which often lack certain social cues. To investigate this, we conducted a study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning during an eye-contact task involving 28 male participants organized into 14 pairs. We assessed brain signal synchronization using wavelet coherence analysis. After comparing face-to-face and online conditions, our findings revealed significantly higher synchronization in face-to-face scenarios, particularly within the right temporoparietal region. These results align with the outcomes of other hyperscanning studies and suggest that face-to-face communication elicits a higher level of brain synchronization compared with online communication. In the future, this approach holds promise for evaluating the effectiveness of online meeting tools in achieving a more authentic virtual communication experience.
在线会议越来越普遍，尤其是在2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间。尽管它们在各种情况下都提供了便利和有效性，但关于它们是否真的能复制面对面交流的丰富性存在一个相关问题。本研究深入探讨了在线互动和面对面互动之间的差异，特别关注大脑活动的同步性。先前的研究表明同步性与交流质量之间存在联系。因此，我们的假设是，与通常缺乏某些社交线索的在线互动相比，面对面互动会导致更大程度的大脑同步。为了对此进行研究，我们进行了一项研究，在一项涉及28名男性参与者、分为14对的眼神接触任务中使用功能近红外光谱超扫描技术。我们使用小波相干分析评估大脑信号同步性。在比较面对面和在线条件后，我们的研究结果显示，面对面场景中的同步性明显更高，尤其是在右侧颞顶区域。这些结果与其他超扫描研究的结果一致，表明与在线交流相比，面对面交流能引发更高水平的大脑同步。未来，这种方法有望用于评估在线会议工具在实现更真实虚拟交流体验方面的有效性。
