Data from: Investigating face processing in online interactions via UK-US Hyperscanning using fNIRS.

Videoconferencing technology has become a staple of everyday life and has
found widespread use in business, education, and telemedicine. Despite
this, there have been few empirical studies investigating the neural
correlates of interactions during this form of communication. This study
investigates the neural mechanisms of face processing during online
video-conferencing, employing functional near-infrared spectroscopy
(fNIRS). We synchronised presentation and acquisition of fNIRS data across
labs in the UK and US using custom Python software and a third-party
computer system. Using this framework, we examine how different
presentations of faces (live-online vs. static images) influence social
cognition and inter-brain coupling (IBC) in a videoconferencing context.
Forty participants (20 dyads) engaged in online sessions where they viewed
either dynamic video feeds or static images of their partners' faces.
In line with our hypotheses, our findings did not show preferential
activity in the right supramarginal gyrus during the observation of live
online faces compared to static faces, whilst marginally higher IBC was
found between the angular gyri during the observation of live faces
compared to static. Findings suggest that on-line studies of social
interaction provide a relevant field of investigation.