Multi-Brain Recording (Hyperscanning)

Hyperscanning records EEG from two or more people at the same time, so that neural synchrony between individuals can be studied. With g.tec's multi-device capability, several g.HIamp, g.USBamp or g.Nautilus amplifiers can be connected to a single recording system.

The Hyperscanning toolbox in g.HIsys processes multimodal biosignals such as EEG, EMG, ECG, GSR and respiration from several participants simultaneously. With every participant connected to one central computer, group-level analysis runs in real time.

The Hyperscanning demo presented on g.tec's BCI System page shows that multi-person use of the P300 speller markedly increases communication speed and accuracy. When the brain waves of several people are combined, the P300 response to the target character is detected more reliably.

In a study run with a g.tec system at the University of Plymouth's Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, the brain synchrony of musicians was examined. People can join their minds to play games, draw, make music, vote or reach shared decisions; hyperscanning reveals the neural basis of that collaboration.

• Hyperscanning toolbox

McMaster University's LIVELab has run hyperscanning studies at live concerts with the g.Nautilus wearable EEG system. Musicians and audience members wore EEG devices at the same time while their brain activity was recorded. The work examines the neural basis of the social and emotional impact of musical performance and shows how hyperscanning can be applied in real-life settings.

Processing the group analysis in real time, the central computer let the conductor adapt the performance to the audience's neural responses. Applications like this make it clear that hyperscanning reaches far beyond the basic research lab.

• g.Nautilus multi-device

Hyperscanning is the most direct way to study how brains synchronise during social interaction between two people. Both participants wear EEG devices at the same time while they talk, solve a shared task or empathise, and inter-brain synchrony is analysed from the recordings.

With g.tec's multi-device capability, hyperscanning can be run at high resolution with 256 channels on g.HIamp or on the move with g.Nautilus. Important findings have been obtained on teacher-student interaction, the parent-child bond and the clinician-patient relationship.

• Inter-brain synchrony