I think pretty much everybody here is familiar with the expression "to vibe" (or not) "with somebody". While the expression is meant as a more general metric of the coherence of the interaction between the people involved, this new study shows that there is an actual synchronization of the brain waves emitted by the two people involved in a conversation. The study claims that the brains simply use the words of the conversants as cues in order to synchronize themselves. However, I think this is a premature conclusion as there could also be direct brain-to-brain electromagnetic interaction that leads to the synchronization. Hopefully, further research involving non-verbal interaction will be done. I would also like to see a study comparing the synchronization status of people who are "engaged" in the communication vs. people who simply pretend to be listening or participating in the dialogue. I bet that the brains of the latter would not be synchronized much along the lines of the expression "to not vibe with somebody".
Brain-to-brain entrainment: EEG interbrain synchronization while speaking and listening
Our brains synchronise during a conversation
"...The rhythms of brainwaves between two people taking part in a conversation begin to match each other. This is the conclusion of a study published in the magazine ‘Scientific Reports’, led by the Basque research centre BCBL. According to scientists, this interbrain synchrony may be a key factor in understanding language and interpersonal communication. Something as simple as an everyday conversation causes the brains of the participants to begin to work simultaneously. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (BCBL), recently published in the magazine ‘Scientific Reports’. Until now, most traditional research had suggested the hypothesis that the brain "synchronises" according to what is heard, and correspondingly adjusts its rhythms to auditory stimuli. Now, the experts from this Donostia-based research centre have gone a step further and simultaneously analysed the complex neuronal activity of two strangers who hold a dialogue for the first time. The team, led by Alejandro Pérez, Manuel Carreiras and Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, has confirmed ‑by recording cerebral electrical activity– that the neuronal activity of two people involved in an act of communication "synchronise" in order to allow for a "connection" between both subjects."
"It involves interbrain communion that goes beyond language itself and may constitute a key factor in interpersonal relations and the understanding of language,” Jon Andoni Duñabeitia explains to SINC. Thus, the rhythms of the brainwaves corresponding to the speaker and the listener adjust according to the physical properties of the sound of the verbal messages expressed in a conversation. This creates a connection between the two brains, which begin to work together towards a common goal: communication."
Brain-to-brain entrainment: EEG interbrain synchronization while speaking and listening
Our brains synchronise during a conversation
"...The rhythms of brainwaves between two people taking part in a conversation begin to match each other. This is the conclusion of a study published in the magazine ‘Scientific Reports’, led by the Basque research centre BCBL. According to scientists, this interbrain synchrony may be a key factor in understanding language and interpersonal communication. Something as simple as an everyday conversation causes the brains of the participants to begin to work simultaneously. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (BCBL), recently published in the magazine ‘Scientific Reports’. Until now, most traditional research had suggested the hypothesis that the brain "synchronises" according to what is heard, and correspondingly adjusts its rhythms to auditory stimuli. Now, the experts from this Donostia-based research centre have gone a step further and simultaneously analysed the complex neuronal activity of two strangers who hold a dialogue for the first time. The team, led by Alejandro Pérez, Manuel Carreiras and Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, has confirmed ‑by recording cerebral electrical activity– that the neuronal activity of two people involved in an act of communication "synchronise" in order to allow for a "connection" between both subjects."
"It involves interbrain communion that goes beyond language itself and may constitute a key factor in interpersonal relations and the understanding of language,” Jon Andoni Duñabeitia explains to SINC. Thus, the rhythms of the brainwaves corresponding to the speaker and the listener adjust according to the physical properties of the sound of the verbal messages expressed in a conversation. This creates a connection between the two brains, which begin to work together towards a common goal: communication."