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Does neural synchronization accelerate communicative interaction?

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Jule Nabrotzky¹ (), Burkhard Maess¹, Mathias Scharinger², Lars Meyer^1,3,4; ¹Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, ²Marburg University, Marburg, Germany, ³Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, ⁴Clinic for Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology University Hospital Münster, Germany

The transition between speakers in conversation (called turn-taking) is remarkably fast. Speakers only need about 200 ms to take the turn. This speed may be afforded by the synchronization of neural activity with acoustic modulations already before the turn boundary. Specifically, narrow-band activity below 8 Hz has been found to synchronize with rhythmic modulations in speech acoustics, thus aiding temporal prediction. Previously, we found rhythmic modulations before turn boundaries and with higher subjective rhythmicity ratings to accelerate turn-taking. To confirm that neural synchronization is at the basis of this effect, we are conducting an MEG study that simulates turn-taking via virtual game interactions with life-like avatars. We hypothesize that sentences with stronger rhythmic modulations increase neural synchronization, accelerating turn taking response times. This would support a role of neural synchronization in anticipating turn boundaries and accelerating communicative interaction. Data collection for this study is currently underway and expected to be complete by December of 2025.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Other