TY  - JOUR
AU  - Li, Yuqin
AU  - Sarah, Genon
AU  - Chen, Chunli
AU  - Jiang, Lin
AU  - Chen, Baodan
AU  - Li, Rihui
AU  - Liang, Zhen
AU  - Yu, Jing
AU  - Dong, Debo
AU  - Wan, Fen
AU  - Becker, Benjamin
AU  - Yao, Dezhong
AU  - Li, Fali
AU  - Zhang, Dandan
AU  - Xu, Peng
TI  - ERP-based interbrain causal model reveals closed-loop information interaction in interpersonal negotiations
JO  - NeuroImage
VL  - 321
SN  - 1053-8119
CY  - Orlando, Fla.
PB  - Academic Press
M1  - FZJ-2026-00912
SP  - 121541 -
PY  - 2025
AB  - decision-making dynamics in resource allocation. In this study, we used EEG hyperscanning alongside an iteratedultimatum game to investigate interbrain coupling and dyadic exchange behavior during negotiation. Frontalcortex event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed the distinct neural responses driven by partners’ behavioral cues:the proposer’s N200 differed significantly for fair versus unfair offers, and the responder’s feedback-relatednegativity (FRN) showed a trend toward significance for the same contrast, while the proposer’s N500 variedbetween acceptance and rejection feedback. Our analysis introduced a novel causal model based on directionalphase transfer entropy (dPTE) and time-varying ERP amplitudes, illustrating directed neural processes driven bysocial exchange, where the proposer’s brain activity initially exerts a causal impact on the responder’s, whosefeedback in turn influences the proposer, creating a closed-loop interaction that drives adaptive negotiationstrategies. Additionally, our prediction model with autoregression with exogenous input, which incorporatedthese causal links between brains, demonstrated higher accuracy than single-brain or reverse causal models,underscoring the significance of dynamic interbrain coupling in interpersonal coordination. This causal modelprovides a mechanistic explanation of how proposer-responder pairs perceive and adapt to each other’s de-cisions, facilitating shared attention and behavioral coordination in reciprocal, asymmetric negotiations. Thesefindings offer a novel theoretical framework for studying complex social behaviors through interbrain dynamicsand may inspire future applications in enhancing cooperative decision-making processes.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
DO  - DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121541
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1052296
ER  -