Neural dynamics of face-to-face interaction of children with ASD using the MEG hyperscanning method.

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K15510
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 52030:Psychiatry-related
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Hasegawa Chiaki 金沢大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 協力研究員 (40644034)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 自閉スペクトラム症 / 脳磁図 / 母子インタラクション / 読み聞かせ / 脳内ネットワーク

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Parent-child book reading is an everyday naturalistic activity that is essential for facilitating various lifelong cognitive and social abilities in young children. Despite extensive literature demonstrating the effect of familiarity on shared reading for the child, the exact neural basis of the functional network architecture remains elusive. To indicate the role of familiarity in shared reading in a child’s brain network, we conducted magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments with graph theory to measure the connectivity dynamics of a child during listening to story book reading (LSBR) as representing in a daily activity of shared book reading between child and caregiver. A graph approach applied to MEG data may provide new insights into the familiarity-related brain response and its relevance to the child attitude even in the naturalistic setting in young children.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで、読み聞かせ中の幼児の脳機能研究はNIRS（近赤外線スペクトロスコピー）やfMRI（機能的脳磁気共鳴画像）を用いて行われているが、MEGを使用した研究はあまりない。なおかつ本研究はMEGデータ解析にグラフ理論によるネットワーク解析を応用した点に新規性と発展性がある。