Hinrichs, Nicolás and Senatore, Irene and Figueiredo, Nara and Cuffari, Elena and Fábregas-Tejeda, Alejandro (2025) Mapping Epistemic Priors of Hyperscanning Psychotherapy: The Asymmetry and Reciprocity Blindspots. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Hyperscanning has been increasingly used to quantify the quality of social relationships by tracking the neural correlates of interpersonal interactions. Specifically, this paper critically examines the use of hyperscanning to track the neural correlates of psychotherapeutic change, e.g., the patient-therapist relationship. First, we motivate our project by diagnosing a lack of complex models at the mesoscale in this domain and, consequently, a polarization of the analysis at the micro and macroscales. Looking for the causes of this issue, we highlight the epistemic blindspots of current methodologies that prioritize neural synchrony as a marker of therapeutic success. Drawing on empirical studies and theoretical frameworks, we identify an asymmetry between the neural and behavioral conceptual toolkits, with the latter remaining underdeveloped. We argue that this imbalance stems from two key issues: the underdetermined qualitative interpretation of brain data and the neglect of strong reciprocity in neuroscientific second-person paradigms. Given our critical analysis, we suggest that further research could address the complexity of reciprocal, dynamic interactions in therapeutic contexts. Specifically, drawing on enactivism, we highlight that the autonomy of interactions is one of the factors that undermines the synchrony paradigm. This approach emphasizes the co-construction of meaning and shared experiences through embodied, reciprocal interactions, offering a more integrative understanding of therapeutic change that moves beyond static neural measures to account for the emergent and dynamic nature of social cognition.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Hinrichs, Nicolás hinrichsn@cbs.mpg.de 0000-0003-4969-9644 Senatore, Irene irene.senatore@student.hu-berlin.de 0009-0008-0591-4369 Figueiredo, Nara nara.figueiredo@ufsm.br 0000-0003-0270-7467 Cuffari, Elena elena.cuffari@fandm.edu 0000-0001-5714-3297 Fábregas-Tejeda, Alejandro alejandro.fabregastejeda@kuleuven.be 0000-0002-1797-5467
Keywords:	Hyperscanning, Neural Synchrony, Intersubjective Alliance, Philosophy of Neuroscience, Psychotherapy, Radical Enactivism, Second-person Neuroscience
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience General Issues > Philosophers of Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Nicolás Hinrichs
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2025 11:59
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2025 11:59
Item ID:	24951
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience General Issues > Philosophers of Science
Date:	29 April 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24951

Available Versions of this Item

• Mapping Epistemic Priors of Hyperscanning Psychotherapy: The Asymmetry and Reciprocity Blindspots. (deposited 29 Apr 2025 11:59) [Currently Displayed]
  • Asymmetry and Reciprocity in Hyperscanning Psychotherapy. (deposited 15 Jun 2025 13:17)

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