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Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication

Communication is one of the most important abilities in human society, which makes clarification of brain functions that underlie communication of great importance to cognitive neuroscience. To investigate the rapidly changing cortical-level brain activity underlying communication, a hyperscanning s...

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Autores principales: Watanabe, Hayato, Shimojo, Atsushi, Yagyu, Kazuyori, Sonehara, Tsuyoshi, Takano, Kazuyoshi, Boasen, Jared, Shiraishi, Hideaki, Yokosawa, Koichi, Saito, Takuya
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35737703
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270090
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author Watanabe, Hayato
Shimojo, Atsushi
Yagyu, Kazuyori
Sonehara, Tsuyoshi
Takano, Kazuyoshi
Boasen, Jared
Shiraishi, Hideaki
Yokosawa, Koichi
Saito, Takuya
author_facet Watanabe, Hayato
Shimojo, Atsushi
Yagyu, Kazuyori
Sonehara, Tsuyoshi
Takano, Kazuyoshi
Boasen, Jared
Shiraishi, Hideaki
Yokosawa, Koichi
Saito, Takuya
author_sort Watanabe, Hayato
collection PubMed
description Communication is one of the most important abilities in human society, which makes clarification of brain functions that underlie communication of great importance to cognitive neuroscience. To investigate the rapidly changing cortical-level brain activity underlying communication, a hyperscanning system with both high temporal and spatial resolution is extremely desirable. The modality of magnetoencephalography (MEG) would be ideal, but MEG hyperscanning systems suitable for communication studies remain rare. Here, we report the establishment of an MEG hyperscanning system that is optimized for natural, real-time, face-to-face communication between two adults in sitting positions. Two MEG systems, which are installed 500m away from each other, were directly connected with fiber optic cables. The number of intermediate devices was minimized, enabling transmission of trigger and auditory signals with almost no delay (1.95–3.90 μs and 3 ms, respectively). Additionally, video signals were transmitted at the lowest latency ever reported (60–100 ms). We furthermore verified the function of an auditory delay line to synchronize the audio with the video signals. This system is thus optimized for natural face-to-face communication, and additionally, music-based communication which requires higher temporal accuracy is also possible via audio-only transmission. Owing to the high temporal and spatial resolution of MEG, our system offers a unique advantage over existing hyperscanning modalities of EEG, fNIRS, or fMRI. It provides novel neuroscientific methodology to investigate communication and other forms of social interaction, and could potentially aid in the development of novel medications or interventions for communication disorders.
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spelling pubmed-92233982022-06-24 Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication Watanabe, Hayato Shimojo, Atsushi Yagyu, Kazuyori Sonehara, Tsuyoshi Takano, Kazuyoshi Boasen, Jared Shiraishi, Hideaki Yokosawa, Koichi Saito, Takuya PLoS One Research Article Communication is one of the most important abilities in human society, which makes clarification of brain functions that underlie communication of great importance to cognitive neuroscience. To investigate the rapidly changing cortical-level brain activity underlying communication, a hyperscanning system with both high temporal and spatial resolution is extremely desirable. The modality of magnetoencephalography (MEG) would be ideal, but MEG hyperscanning systems suitable for communication studies remain rare. Here, we report the establishment of an MEG hyperscanning system that is optimized for natural, real-time, face-to-face communication between two adults in sitting positions. Two MEG systems, which are installed 500m away from each other, were directly connected with fiber optic cables. The number of intermediate devices was minimized, enabling transmission of trigger and auditory signals with almost no delay (1.95–3.90 μs and 3 ms, respectively). Additionally, video signals were transmitted at the lowest latency ever reported (60–100 ms). We furthermore verified the function of an auditory delay line to synchronize the audio with the video signals. This system is thus optimized for natural face-to-face communication, and additionally, music-based communication which requires higher temporal accuracy is also possible via audio-only transmission. Owing to the high temporal and spatial resolution of MEG, our system offers a unique advantage over existing hyperscanning modalities of EEG, fNIRS, or fMRI. It provides novel neuroscientific methodology to investigate communication and other forms of social interaction, and could potentially aid in the development of novel medications or interventions for communication disorders. Public Library of Science 2022-06-23 /pmc/articles/PMC9223398/ /pubmed/35737703 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270090 Text en © 2022 Watanabe et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Watanabe, Hayato
Shimojo, Atsushi
Yagyu, Kazuyori
Sonehara, Tsuyoshi
Takano, Kazuyoshi
Boasen, Jared
Shiraishi, Hideaki
Yokosawa, Koichi
Saito, Takuya
Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title_full Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title_fullStr Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title_full_unstemmed Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title_short Construction of a fiber-optically connected MEG hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
title_sort construction of a fiber-optically connected meg hyperscanning system for recording brain activity during real-time communication
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35737703
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270090
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