@ethz.ch, @escross.bsky.social, @tanjaulrich.bsky.social , @courtcasale.bsky.social, @lucaleisten.bsky.social, @andreaorlandi.bsky.social
🔬What does the #SocialBrainSciencesLab research?
Many, many topics including #SocialNeuroscience, #Aesthetics, #EmbodiedAI and #SocialRobots.
🧠 🤖 We compiled an overview of ongoing projects. If our work inspires you, reach out and say hi!
@ethz.ch, @escross.bsky.social, @tanjaulrich.bsky.social
Check out our brilliant PhD student Hanlu He's @hanluhe.bsky.social 1st paper on heart-rate synchrony in real-world urban environments, replicated across 3 datasets recorded in NYC! HR sync is enhanced by social proximity, familiarity, social context, and better acoustic conditions. 🧵👇
This particular review process holds a special place in my heart.
❤️🔥 The reviewers were evidently at the peak of their game and offered razor-sharp suggestions for double checking our findings and improving the manuscript. The experience was so collaborative, I'd gladly do it all over again!
🐛 ...🦋 Our #fNIRS research showing that physically matching other people's movements enhances perceptual sensitivity to movement synchrony has transformed from a preprint to a publication in #ImagingNeuroscience.
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
@escross.bsky.social
Check out the preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
🙏 @lucanaudszus.bsky.social & @escross.bsky.social
🙏 @cortivision.bsky.social & Caran d'Ache
3️⃣ An exception: a trending relationship between ratings of collaboration in intergenerational dyads' drawings and cardiac synchrony.
👵 👩🏼 Intergenerational collaboration may be higher stakes for some dyads, and may result in physiological arousal levels become aligned ➡️ greater cardiac synchrony.
2️⃣ We expected the differences in collaboration, social closeness, and interpersonal distance to show up in levels of cardiac synchrony of collaborating dyads–but they didn’t.
🫀Cardiac synchrony is not overly sensitive to collaboration or social closeness.
We found that:
1️⃣ Drawing collaboration, feelings of social closeness and interpersonal distance differ between same and intergenerational dyads, revealing different levels of comfort during collaboration.
👥 Interpersonal distance seems to track comfort levels best (closer = less comfort).
A few of the many things we measured were:
• Cardiac synchrony
• Feelings of social closeness
• How close dyads sat (interpersonal distance)
• Collaboration during co-drawing (assessed by external raters, who rated the use of space and the coherence of the motifs in each drawing)
The 2nd 🧩 from our longitudinal intergenerational art-making study sheds light on cardiac synchrony during collaboration in budding relationships.
🎨 We invited 31 intergenerational and 30 same-generation dyads to complete a 6-session creative art-making program.
🫀🖼️🫀What can 732 co-created drawings and heart rates from 61 dyads teach us about intergenerational relationship development and collaboration?
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
@escross.bsky.social @lucanaudszus.bsky.social
🙏 also too @cortivision.bsky.social & Caran D'Ache
Preprint hot off the press: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🙏 @introspection.bsky.social & @escross.bsky.social
🌟 With these findings, we make a number of novel contributions:
✅ Interbrain synchrony in intergenerational pairs that include seniors
✅ Multi-session, longitudinal changes in interbrain synchrony relating to relationship formation
✅ The impact of loneliness on interbrain synchrony
4️⃣ Loneliness impacts interbrain synchrony while intergenerational pairs draw independently—a potentially promising biomarker of changes in loneliness.
3️⃣ Across sessions, interbrain synchrony during collaborative drawing increased in same generation pairs and decreased in intergenerational pairs. This likely reflects how increased familiarity makes intergenerational pairs more relaxed and same generation pairs more daring.
✨Data in hand, we discovered that:
1️⃣ Loneliness decreased across sessions and feelings of social closeness increased.
2️⃣ On average, interbrain synchrony during collaboration was similar for same generation and intergenerational pairs (greater for collaborative drawing than solo drawing).
At every session, we recorded pairs’ interbrain (🧠~🧠) synchrony with #fNIRS, levels of loneliness, and feelings of social closeness. We recorded many other important things, but more on that another time.
🎨 We invited 61 pairs to get acquainted across 6 art-making sessions:
• 30 same-aged pairs (age 18-35)
• 31 intergenerational pairs (age 70+ and 18-35)
What happens in the brain as people become less lonely? Intergenerational community programs can reduce loneliness, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We collected and analysed 732 🧠-scans to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@introspection.bsky.social + @escross.bsky.social
Takeaway: Trying to match other people's movements (e.g., in a yoga class) is likely to enhance perceptual sensitivity to movement synchrony.
🙏 @escross.bsky.social, @ethz.ch
#fNIRS #embodiment #synchrony
🔸 Estimating levels of synchrony in multi-person actions is challenging!
🔸 Estimation improves when people try the moves.
🔸 After trying the moves, people show differences in activation of the action observation network (AON) 🧠 that can be predicted by how well they estimate movement synchrony.
Picture this:
👀 Two synchronised divers somersault off a tower.
👁️ You notice that one diver is rotating a little slower.
How did you notice this?
In our newest 🧠 research, we found that:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Ever wondered why people-watching is so enjoyable? Is watching a single person different than watching a small group?
Check out @andreaorlandi.bsky.social‘s awesome review for a deep dive into the aesthetics of humans movements 💃💃💃
⭐⭐⭐
@digiresacademy.bsky.social
@annayahprosser.bsky.social
@lydia-riedl.bsky.social
@rd-00.bsky.social
Julia Pauquet, Ruby Sleigh, Peter Degen
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☺️ We hope the #openscience community enjoys our gentle reminder that promoting open science takes energy, but that sharing the 💜 of open science is worth it!
📚 We also compiled a list of resources for advocates (open science and beyond):
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