Neural synchronicity refers to the coordinated patterns of brain activity between individuals and is known to occur between parents and their children during social interactions. In new research published in the journal NeuroImage, scientists from China have found that during activities together, children’s brain activity patterns match up more closely with their mothers than with their fathers. However, heightened parental stress can weaken this neural synchronicity for both moms and dads.
“We were drawn to this topic due to its significance in understanding the crucial role of parent-child interactions in the early social development and functioning of children,” said study author Weihua Zhao, an associate professor at School of Life Science and Technology at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.
“While previous studies have primarily focused on the relationship between neural synchrony and behaviors of mother-children or father-child dyads separately, our study specifically examines the different patterns and strengths of neural synchrony between mother-children and father-child during different shared experiences. Understanding the different neural underpinnings of these interactions can provide valuable insights into how parents can best support their children’s cognitive and emotional development.”
For their study, the researchers analyzed data from a publicly available dataset of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) parent-child hyperscanning. fNIRS measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood oxygenation, while hyperscanning is a technique that allows for the simultaneous recording of brain activity from multiple individuals, enabling the investigation of how brains sync up during interactions.
This dataset was collected by the Nanyang Technological University and included data from 33 mother-child and 29 father-child dyads from Singapore. To participate, individuals had to be part of the same household and free from severe cognitive, visual, or hearing impairments.
The experimental setup consisted of two main activities: a video co-viewing session and a free-play session. During the video co-viewing session, parent-child dyads watched three 1-minute cartoon clips in a randomized order, designed to vary in visual complexity and emotional content. This was followed by a 10-minute free-play session, where dyads were encouraged to interact with various toys provided to them.
The researchers observed differential patterns of neural synchrony between mother-child and father-child dyads during these shared experiences. Specifically, they found that during video co-viewing sessions, mother-child pairs exhibited a higher degree of neural synchrony in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex, a region associated with emotional and cognitive processing, compared to father-child pairs.
During free-play, the researchers found overlaps in neural synchronization patterns with those observed during video viewing, indicating a consistent underlying neural mechanism across different types of shared experiences. Further analysis into individual behaviors like smiling and verbal communication during free-play revealed that the timing of these interactions (e.g., who leads the interaction) could influence the strength and pattern of neural synchrony.
For instance, when children led the interaction with a smile, a specific pattern of synchrony was more pronounced in mother-child dyads, whereas verbal initiations led by the child enhanced synchrony in father-child dyads.
Another critical insight from the study was the association between neural synchrony and perceived parenting stress. The researchers observed that higher levels of reported parenting stress were inversely related to the degree of neural synchrony during shared experiences, particularly in regions associated with emotional and social processing.
“The average person can take away that the shared experiences (co-viewing and co-playing) between parents and children promote neural synchrony, which is crucial for a child’s social and emotional development,” Zhao told PsyPost. “Our study also reveals distinct roles for mothers and fathers in these interactions, and that parental stress can impact this synchrony. Thus, fostering a positive family environment and reducing stress can enhance the quality of parent-child interactions for the child’s well-being.”
However, the study is not without its limitations. The sample size, though consistent with previous research in the field, may still be too small to generalize the findings across all populations. Additionally, the research focused primarily on the prefrontal cortex, leaving other brain regions unexplored. Future studies could benefit from a more extensive exploration of neural activity across the entire brain and involve larger, more diverse participant groups to validate these findings further.
Despite these limitations, the study opens new avenues for understanding the intricate dynamics of parent-child relationships. It underscores the critical role of shared experiences in shaping a child’s development and highlights how different types of interactions with mothers and fathers contribute uniquely to this process.
“Our primary goal is to explore the impact of cultural and demographic factors on parent-child neural synchrony to ensure our research is inclusive,” Zhao said. “More importantly, as parent-child interaction therapy is an effective method for improving social adaptation in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, we aim to develop effective neural synchrony indicators to guide this type of therapy.”
The study, “Mothers and fathers show different neural synchrony with their children during shared experiences,” was authored by Qi Liu, Siyu Zhu, Xinqi Zhou, Fang Liu, Benjamin Becker, Keith M. Kendrick, and Weihua Zhao.