Communicating with others is far more complex than simply speaking and listening. It also involves interpreting visual cues such as hand gestures, ensuring mutual understanding, and overcoming challenging, noisy environments. But how does the brain manage all of this? Most research in this field has been conducted in highly controlled laboratory settings, often focusing on isolated individuals performing simple, voice-only tasks. Such approaches overlook the interactive and multimodal nature of everyday conversations. To address this gap, this thesis investigated how brain activity supports communication in more realistic, face-to-face dialogues. Using a method called dual-EEG, brain activity from pairs of participants was recorded simultaneously as they collaborated on a task through spontaneous dialogue. This research specifically focused on how brain waves synchronize with the speaker’s voice and between interlocutors, and how these patterns of neural synchrony support the integration of speech and gesture, mutual understanding, and communication in noisy settings. The findings suggest neural synchrony as a flexible mechanism that supports human communication as it naturally occurs. Additionally, this work highlights both the importance and feasibility of studying communication in real-world contexts to fully understand the underlying brain mechanisms.

Contains fulltext : 325064.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)

Promotores : Hagoort, P., Holler, J.A.M. Co-promotor : Drijvers, L.

Radboud University, 18 november 2025

224 p.