Integrating multiple sensory modalities during dyadic interactions drives self-other distinction at the behavioral and electrocortical level

Interpersonal motor interactions represent ecologically relevant dynamic contexts for studying behavioral and neural effects of active multisensory experiences. They offer the possibility to study cross-modal multisensory integration mechanisms and to test whether interpersonal interactions impact interpersonal cross-modal processing. Here we explored whether being engaged in interpersonal interactions that require the integration of different sensorimotor signals modulates interpersonal cross-modal integration after the interaction. In detail, we investigated whether engaging individuals in dyadic activities that utilized either single or combined sensory modalities would impact the behavioral and electrocortical markers associated with interpersonal cross-modal integration. We show that interactions requiring the integration of multiple sensory modalities lead to higher interpersonal differentiation resulting in reduced interpersonal cross-modal integration. Further, the neural patterns elicited by interpersonal visuo-tactile stimuli presented after interpersonal interactions that involved multiple sensory modalities were easier to recognize by a neural classifier. These findings suggest new avenues for sensorimotor approaches in social neuroscience, emphasizing the malleability of self-other representations based on the nature of interpersonal interactions.