Social Coordination Information in Dynamic Chase Modulates EEG Mu Rhythm

Understanding actions plays an impressive role in our social life. Such processing has been suggested to be reflected by EEG Mu rhythm (8–13 Hz in sensorimotor regions). However, it remains unclear whether Mu rhythm is modulated by the social nature of coordination information in interactive actions (i.e., inter-dependency). This study used a novel manipulation of social coordination information: in a computer-based task, participants viewed a replay of two chasers chasing a common target coordinately (coordinated chase) or independently (solo chase). Simultaneously, to distinguish the potential effect of social coordination information from that of object-directed goal information, a control version of each condition was created by randomizing one chaser’s movement. In a second experiment, we made the target invisible to participants to control for low-level properties. Watching replays of coordinated chases induced stronger Mu suppression than solo chases, although both involved a common target. These effects were not explained by attention mechanisms or low-level physical patterns (e.g., the degree of physical synchronization). Therefore, the current findings suggest that processing social coordination information can be reflected by Mu rhythm. This function of Mu rhythm may characterize the activity of human mirror neuron system.