title: Leader emergence through interpersonal neural synchronization.
abstract: The neural mechanism of leader emergence is not well understood. This study investigated (i) whether interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) plays an important role in leader emergence, and (ii) whether INS and leader emergence are associated with the frequency or the quality of communications. Eleven three-member groups were asked to perform a leaderless group discussion (LGD) task, and their brain activities were recorded via functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning. Video recordings of the discussions were coded for leadership and communication. Results showed that the INS for the leader-follower (LF) pairs was higher than that for the follower-follower (FF) pairs in the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), an area important for social mentalizing. Although communication frequency was higher for the LF pairs than for the FF pairs, the frequency of leader-initiated and follower-initiated communication did not differ significantly. Moreover, INS for the LF pairs was significantly higher during leader-initiated communication than during follower-initiated communications. In addition, INS for the LF pairs during leader-initiated communication was significantly correlated with the leaders' communication skills and competence, but not their communication frequency. Finally, leadership could be successfully predicted based on INS as well as communication frequency early during the LGD (before half a minute into the task). In sum, this study found that leader emergence was characterized by high-level neural synchronization between the leader and followers and that the quality, rather than the frequency, of communications was associated with synchronization. These results suggest that leaders emerge because they are able to say the right things at the right time.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany;
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697;
authors.forename: Chuansheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen 6500 AH, The Netherlands; and International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences, Nijmegen 6500 AH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bohan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
authors.forename: Guosheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; luchunming@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chunming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000379:methods*; D011897:Random Allocation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: babble hypothesis; communication skill; leader emergence; neural synchronization; quality of communication
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014 Jul;44:76-93
references.pmid: 22917915
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2011 Aug 23;21(16):1403-7
references.pmid: 21820308
references.citation: Nature. 2005 Feb 3;433(7025):513-6
references.pmid: 15690039
references.citation: Front Hum Neurosci. 2014 Jun 04;8:363
references.pmid: 24926244
references.citation: Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2010 Nov;63(11):2220-30
references.pmid: 20694920
references.citation: Front Hum Neurosci. 2012 Nov 29;6:312
references.pmid: 23226120
references.citation: Sci Rep. 2012;2:959
references.pmid: 23233878
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 10;107(32):14425-30
references.pmid: 20660768
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2009 Aug;7(8):e1000167
references.pmid: 19652698
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2014 Jul 1;94:79-88
references.pmid: 24631790
references.citation: J Biomed Opt. 2007 Nov-Dec;12(6):062106
references.pmid: 18163809
references.citation: Science. 2009 Oct 23;326(5952):596-9
references.pmid: 19745115
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2012 Nov 7;32(45):16064-9
references.pmid: 23136442
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 2013 Aug;36(4):393-414
references.pmid: 23883742
references.citation: Opt Express. 2010 Mar 15;18(6):5730-9
references.pmid: 20389589
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2013 Nov 1;81:381-92
references.pmid: 23689016
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2004 May;7(5):499-500
references.pmid: 15077111
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Feb;16(2):114-21
references.pmid: 22221820
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009 Mar 27;364(1518):781-9
references.pmid: 19073481
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 May 17;108(20):8373-8
references.pmid: 21536882
references.citation: Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Jun 04;7:234
references.pmid: 23761745
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Apr;16(2):235-9
references.pmid: 16546372
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2010 Mar;50(1):81-98
references.pmid: 20006716
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2009 Oct 13;19(19):R911-6
references.pmid: 19825357
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006;10(4):354-71
references.pmid: 17201593
references.citation: J Neurosci Methods. 2010 Feb 15;186(2):242-9
references.pmid: 19931310
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2012 Feb 1;59(3):2430-7
references.pmid: 21933717