Underlying mechanism of verbal communication by phase-resetting of neural oscillations

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25240019
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Mizuhara Hiroaki 京都大学, 情報学研究科, 講師 (30392137)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 北城 圭一 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 脳科学総合研究センター, 連携ユニットリーダー (70302601) ; 上野 雄文 九州大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), その他 (00441668)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ONITSUKA Toshiaki 九州大学, 医学研究院, 准教授 (00398059) ; HIRANO Shogo 九州大学, 大学病院, 助教 (10568984)
• Research Collaborator: ONOJIMA Takayuki ; KUMAGAI Toshihiro ; OOZONO Atsushi
• Project Period (FY): 2013-10-21 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 認知神経科学 / コミュニケーション / 音声知覚 / 神経振動子 / 神経回路 / 脳機能イメージング / 身体性 / 引き込み

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We measured human scalp EEG, and simultaneous fMRI-EEG to investigate the neural mechanisms of communication. In this project, we assumed that the communication, ranging from cortical networks in the brain to social networks between humans, can be explained by a common theoretical framework on the neural oscillations. The results indicated that the dynamic cortical networks in the brain were achieved by a hierarchical synchrony of neural oscillations between the theta and gamma EEGs. The hierarchical synchrony of neural oscillations also enhanced the communication between humans, where the slower oscillation in delta EEG conveyed information represented by the theta EEG in the brain to others. We demonstrated that the underlying mechanism of communication can be described by a common theoretical framework on the neural oscillations ranging from cortical networks in the brain to real human-human interaction.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学