Investigating the Impact of a Dual Musical Brain-Computer Interface on Interpersonal Synchrony: A Pilot Study

This study looked into how effective a Musical Brain-Computer Interface (MBCI) can be in providing feedback about synchrony between two people. Using a double EEG setup, we compared two types of musical feedback; one that adapted in real-time based on the inter-brain synchrony between participants (Neuroadaptive condition), and another music that was randomly generated (Random condition). We evaluated how these two conditions were perceived by 8 dyads (n = 16) and whether the generated music could influence the perceived connection and EEG synchrony between them. The findings indicated that Neuroadaptive musical feedback could potentially boost synchrony levels between people compared to Random feedback, as seen by a significant increase in EEG phase-locking values. Additionally, the real-time measurement of synchrony was successfully validated and musical neurofeedback was generally well-received by the participants. However, more research is needed for conclusive results due to the small sample size. This study is a stepping stone towards creating music that can audibly reflect the level of synchrony between individuals.