Towards fNIRS Hyperfeedback: A Feasibility Study on Real-Time Interbrain Synchrony

Abstract

Social interaction is of fundamental importance to humans. Prior research has highlighted the link between interbrain synchrony and positive outcomes in human social interaction. Neurofeedback is an established method to train ones brain activity and might offer a possibility to increase interbrain synchrony. Consequently, it would be advantageous to determine the feasibility of creating a neurofeedback system for enhancing interbrain synchrony to benefit human interaction. In this study, we investigated whether the most widely employed metric for interbrain synchrony, namely wavelet transform coherence, can be assessed accurately in near real-time using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which is recognized for its mobility and ecological suitability for interactive research. To this end, we have undertaken a comprehensive approach encompassing simulations and a re-evaluation of two human-interaction datasets. Our findings indicate the potential for a stable near real-time measurement of wavelet transform coherence for integration durations of about one minute. This would align well with the methodology of an intermittent neurofeedback procedure. Our investigation lays the technical foundation for an fNIRS-based system to measure interbrain synchrony in near real-time. This advancement is crucial for the future development of a neurofeedback training system tailored to enhance interbrain synchrony to potentially benefit human interaction.