CIMTR Public Lecture: Harmonizing Minds: Hyperscanning, Inter-Brain Synchronization, and Clinical Implications

Join Dr Guillaume Dumas and CIMTR online for a talk on inter-brain connectivity in music therapy.

Social cognition research faces a fundamental paradox: whether mental state attribution enables social interaction, or interactive experiences scaffold social understanding. Two theoretical approaches – higher-order mentalising versus embodied interaction – have evolved separately with distinct frameworks. Dr Dumas proposes a unifying "social physiology" framework conceptualising human cognition as a multi-scale system bridging biological and social processes.

Through hyperscanning studies, Dr Dumas demonstrates how inter-brain connectivity patterns link individual neural mechanisms with emergent social dynamics – particularly relevant for music-based interactions. This perspective can inform music therapy practices, suggesting mental health conditions be understood as perturbations in coupled individual-social systems.

Speaker

Dr Guillaume Dumas is Associate Professor of Computational Psychiatry at Université de Montréal and directs the Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology laboratory at CHU Sainte-Justine Azrieli Research Center and the Mila – Quebec AI Institute.

Recognised as a Global Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a Future Leader in Canadian Brain Research by the Brain Canada Foundation, Dr Dumas bridges scientific research and societal impact through his advisory work on national AI strategies and his contributions as an invited expert at the United Nations.

This event is part of the CIMTR Public Lecture Series 2024-25.