Towards an informational account of interpersonal coordination

Journal article : Review

Human sociality is grounded in the dynamic coordination of individuals as they interact with one another. Indeed, various levels of interpersonal coordination — neural, behavioural, physiological, affective, linguistic — are hallmarks of successful social communication and cooperation. However, describing these complex, interdependent dynamics has been limited by current methodological approaches, owing to a restrictive repertoire of tools and the absence of a unified, standardized methodological framework. Here, we identify information theory — the mathematical theory of communication — as a particularly well-suited conceptual framework to address this shortfall, given its appropriate sensitivity to complex dynamics, including potential nonlinearity and higher-order interactions, and its data-driven, model-agnostic foundations. With deep roots in computational, cognitive and systems neuroscience, the formal introduction of information-theoretic quantities and methods into the study of interpersonal coordination is perhaps overdue. In this Perspective, we advance the case for a unified information-theoretic framework for the field while paving the way for a new generation of empirically testable, theoretically grounded research questions.

Authors: Chidichimo, E; Luppi, AI; Mediano, PAM; Leong, V; Dumas, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Journal: Nature Reviews Neuroscience
• Place of publication: England
• Publication date: 2025-11-17
• Acceptance date: 2025-10-17
• DOI: 10.1038/s41583-025-00989-0
• EISSN: 1471-0048
• ISSN: 1471-003X
• Pmid: 41249627
• Language: English
• Subtype: Review