The interplay of neural networks enabling social interaction: Protocol of a multi-level, mixed-methods study of empathy and theory of mind

Abstract Background The quality and frequency of social interactions are among the best predictors of long-term mental and physical health. So how do good social interactions arise? Social neuroscience has focused on a number of affective and cognitive functions including empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) as potential “building blocks” of social interaction. However, utilizing mainly simplistic and passive paradigms, we still fail to describe how actual, live social interactions emerge. Here, the concept of “building blocks” may have become an impediment to progress. Recent evidence suggests that in more complex experimental tasks, socio-affective and -cognitive processes are not simply stacked up, but are dynamically working together, just as the underlying neural networks seem to engage in lively interplay. The main objective of the study presented here (INTERACT) is to understand how adaptive social interactions emerge by elucidating the interplay of networks and processes. Methods Using a combination of methods and across data levels, INTERACT will move from the comprehensive investigation of behavioral and neural interaction patterns of social affect and cognition in controlled lab settings to completely free social interactions in people’s everyday lives. First, we adapt an established, behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task measuring empathy and ToM (EmpaToM) to study the c onjoint effects of both functions (cEmpaToM) by manipulating their dependencies. Second, we set up an i nteractive task version (iEmpaToM) for hyperscanning functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in which participants engage in a conversation with another participant that elicits empathy and ToM. Third, we implement a multi-agent ecological momentary assessment (EMA) setup in which participants and a close social partner complete daily questions about their social interactions triggered by digitally detected physical proximity. Lastly, each of these assessments includes measures of prosocial behavior to investigate how prosociality is impacted by empathy and ToM interactions. Discussion Combining a novel experimental approach with single and dual neuroimaging (hyperscanning) and multi-agent EMA, INTERACT will shift from a modular to a complex systems study of actual social interaction. INTERACT aspires to develop an interdisciplinary model of social interactions that expands our knowledge and applies it to real-world settings.