Why and how to collect representative study samples in educational neuroscience research.

BACKGROUND: Educational neuroscience research, which investigates the neurobiological mechanisms of learning, has historically incorporated samples drawn mostly from white, middle-class, and/or suburban populations. However, sampling in research without attending to representation can lead to biased interpretations and results that are less generalizable to an intended target population. Prior research revealing differences in neurocognitive outcomes both within- and across-groups further suggests that such practices may obscure significant effects with practical implications. BARRIERS: Negative attitudes among historically marginalized communities, stemming from historical mistreatment, biased research outcomes, and implicit or explicit attitudes among research teams, can hinder diverse participation. Qualities of the research process including language requirements, study locations, and time demands create additional barriers. SOLUTIONS: Flexible data collection approaches, community engaugement, and transparent reporting could build trust and enhance sampling diversity. Longer-term solutions include prioritizing research questions relevant to marginalized communities, increasing workforce diversity, and detailed reporting of sample demographics. Such concerted efforts are essential for robust educational neuroscience research to maximize positive impacts broadly across learners.

Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with child-parent neural synchrony during competition.

Interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) occurs when neural electrical activity temporally aligns between individuals during social interactions. It has been used as a metric for interpersonal closeness, often during naturalistic child-parent interactions. This study evaluated whether other biological correlates of social processing predicted the prevalence of INS during child-parent interactions, and whether their observed cooperativity modulated this association. Child-parent dyads (n = 27) performed a visuospatial tower-building task in cooperative and competitive conditions. Neural activity was recorded using mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets, and experimenters coded video-recordings post-hoc for behavioral attunement. DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTRm) was measured, an epigenetic modification associated with reduced oxytocin activity and socioemotional functioning. Greater INS during competition was associated with lower child OXTRm, while greater behavioral attunement during competition and cooperation was associated with higher parent OXTRm. These differential relationships suggest that interpersonal dynamics as measured by INS may be similarly reflected by other biological markers of social functioning, irrespective of observed behavior. Children's self-perceived communication skill also showed opposite associations with parent and child OXTRm, suggesting complex relationships between children's and their parents' social functioning. Our findings have implications for ongoing developmental research, supporting the utility of biological metrics in characterizing interpersonal relationships.

Measurement of interpersonal physiological synchrony in dyads: A review of timing parameters used in the literature.

When individuals share interpersonal connections, such as the bond between a mother and child or between a therapist and their client, they often exhibit measurable coordination of some physiological response patterns during their interactions known as interpersonal physiological synchrony (IPS Butler, 2011; Palumbo et al., 2016; Tscacher & Meier, 2019). However, as there is no single definition of IPS in the literature, researchers across fields have not established a standardized method for its study. This paper outlines methodological considerations that researchers should take into account when designing studies of IPS. Due to the inherent temporal component of synchrony analyses, we direct particular focus to the issue of measurement timing. Synchrony is described across multiple physiological processes, including electrodermal skin activation, cardiac function, respiration, and neural oscillatory activity, and we make specific recommendations for each. Across physiological measures and analytic strategies, we recommend that when determining an experimental timeframe in which to isolate periods of dyadic IPS, researchers should account for the timing of both the biological systems of interest and the psychological processes theorized to underlie their activity in that particular context. In adopting this strategy, researchers can ensure that they capture all of the fluctuations associated with a psychological process of interest and can add to the growing body of literature examining physiological correlates of interpersonal bonds.