Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42625124›Full record

ArticleBrain and behavior2026

Brain-to-Brain Coupling Is Associated With the Benefits of Delayed Imitation in Skill Acquisition: An fNIRS Study.

Cuirong Yang, Linwei Yu, Liangchuan Mi, Ming Yin, Yi Hu

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Brain and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Cuirong YangSchool of Smart Education, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0202-997X
Linwei YuShanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0287-4970
Liangchuan MiSchool of Water Conservancy Engineering, Zhejiang Tongji Vocational College of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6479-0755
Ming YinInvestigation Department, Jiangsu Police Institute, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1667-2381
Yi HuShanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0243-9060

Funding

Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China 23YJAZH173
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeObservational learning through imitation is an important ability across various domains. Although research has found that delayed imitation produces superior learning outcomes compared with other observational learning strategies, the underlying reason for this advantage remains unclear. This study investigated whether interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between learners and demonstrators is related to the benefits of delayed imitation.

methodsA total of 48 pairs of participants (M

resultsDelayed imitation led to better learning outcomes than concurrent imitation across both skill operation performance and operational rules. However, performance in the delayed imitation condition did not differ significantly from that in the observation-only condition. At the neural level, delayed imitation elicited stronger IBS in the right dlPFC, with both observation and imitation phases contributing to this increased synchronization. Crucially, IBS in the right dlPFC was positively correlated with learning performance.

conclusionsThese findings suggest that the advantage of delayed imitation is associated with enhanced brain-to-brain coupling between the demonstrator and the learner, providing novel evidence that interbrain coupling contributes to effective observational learning.

Indexed as

BrainImitative BehaviorLearningAdultFemaleHumansMalePrefrontal CortexPsychomotor PerformanceSpectroscopy, Near-InfraredYoung Adultdelayed imitationfNIRSinterbrain synchronyobservation learning

Identifiers

PMID42625124
PMCPMC13493701

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.