Suppression of Alpha and Beta Oscillations in the Course of Virtual Social Interactions

Human Physiology. 2023. Vol. 49. No. 1. P. 42–51.

Bocharov A. V., Savostyanov A. N., Saprigyn A. E., Merkulova E. A., Tamozhnikov S. S., E. A. Proshina, Knyazev G. G.

The study involved 42 individuals (including 25 women) in the age range from 18 to 41 The aim of

the study was to investigate the peculiarities of oscillatory dynamics accompanying the processes of interac-

tion with a virtual character and to localize the effects detected. During the recording of the electroencepha-

logram (EEG), the subjects were asked to interact with a virtual character, choosing one of three options

(“offer friendship,” “attack,” or “avoid contact”). Faces with five types of emotional expressions (angry,

happy, frightened, sad, and neutral) were used as stimuli. Analysis of equivalent dipoles revealed that the

choices of active interaction (“attack” and “offer friendship”), compared to avoidance of interaction, were

accompanied by a greater decrease in α- and β-rhythms, which may be related to the processes of under-

standing the intentions of the virtual character. The choice of friendship, as compared to interaction avoid-

ance, was accompanied by an increase in δ-rhythm, which may indicate the presence of a motivational com-

ponent. The effects detected were found in clusters of equivalent dipoles, whose localization coincides with

the structures of the mentalizing network and mirror neuron network, which are involved in the processes of

evaluating people’s intentions.

Keywords: EEG, social interactions