Emotional Neural Choreography: Parent-Child Brain Synchrony During Valenced Interactions

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  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Brain, Neurosciences and Education Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

This study examined interbrain neural synchrony during emotion socialization via parental emotion expression in 42 mother-child dyads using fNIRS hyperscanning across positive, negative, and neutral emotional expression contexts. Wavelet transform coherence analysis revealed emotion-specific synchronization patterns, with left frontopolar cortex showing enhanced synchrony during emotional versus neutral interactions (p < .001). Family factors significantly moderated neural synchronization. Notably, children with lower emotion regulation abilities demonstrated higher synchrony with mothers in left superior temporal gyrus during neutral expression (p = .012) and frontopolar regions during negative emotional contexts (p = .043), suggesting interbrain synchrony serves as a neurobiological scaffolding mechanism. Results conceptualize emotion regulation as a dyadic neurobiological process, offering potential biomarkers for emotion socialization quality with implications for developmental interventions.

Authors

• Yihui Wang, Shanghai Normal University

• Yihan Zhang, University of Macau

• Lidian Huang, University of Macau

• Juan Zhang, University of Macau