Bidirectional coupling of physiology and emotions reveals unique speaker–listener dynamics

Journal article

Conversational interactions extend beyond verbal exchange, involving dynamic synchronization across physiological, emotional, and acoustic domains. This study aimed to characterize multimodal speaker-listener coupling during structured debates to examine how bidirectional dynamics relate to autonomic regulation, signal complexity, and emotional states. We analyzed data from the K-EmoCon database, which included 32 participants in 10-minute debates. Heart rate variability (HRV) features, speech features, and multi-perspective emotion annotations were synchronized and analyzed in segmented speak-listen phases. Cross-correlation and bidirectional coupling quantified coupling strength and directionality, and their relationships with emotional states were assessed. Negative lag segments showed significantly higher HRV features, including AVNN (0.655 [0.631–0.749], P = .003), HF power (0.620 [0.338–0.781], P < .001), and SD1 (1.30 × 10−3 [1.19–1.41] × 10−3, P = .003). Positive lag segments were associated with higher sample entropy (0.058 [0.046–0.065], P < .001) and diffusion entropy (μr: 1.209 [1.201–1.221], P < .001). Lower emotion states (1–2) tended to exhibit negative-lag dynamics, whereas moderate to high states (3 and 5) showed a modest positive-lag predominance. Multimodal coupling reveals distinct physiological and emotional signatures linked to leadership and responsiveness in conversation, providing insights for therapeutic, educational, and collaborative applications.

Authors: Alkhodari, M; Ziogas, I; Singh, J; Grigolini, P; Muschert, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 1
• Pages: nsag019
• Article number: nsag019
• Publication date: 2026-05-06
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-11
• DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsag019
• EISSN: 1749-5024
• ISSN: 1749-5016
• Language: English
• Keywords: heart rate variability; physiological synchronization; emotional dynamics; bidirectional coupling; entropy and complexity