Effortless retaliation: The neural dynamics of interpersonal intentions in the Chicken Game using brain-computer interface

• Main Authors: Fu, C. (Author), Huang, Z. (Author), Lin, Y. (Author), Wang, Y. (Author), Xiao, S. (Author), Yu, R. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2021
• Subjects: aggression; Aggression; alpha event-related desynchronization; animal; Animals; behavior; brain computer interface; brain-computer interface; Brain-Computer Interfaces; chicken; Chicken Game; Chickens; cooperation; electroencephalography; Electroencephalography; human; Humans; Intention; procedures
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher
• ISBN: 17495016 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab064

The desire for retaliation is a common response across a majority of human societies. However, the neural mechanisms underlying aggression and retaliation remain unclear. Previous studies on social intentions are confounded by a low-level response-related brain activity. Using an Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interface combined with the Chicken Game, our study examined the neural dynamics of aggression and retaliation after controlling for nonessential response-related neural signals. Our results show that aggression is associated with reduced alpha event-related desynchronization (alpha-ERD), indicating reduced mental effort. Moreover, retaliation and tit-for-tat strategy use are also linked with smaller alpha-ERD. Our study provides a novel method to minimize motor confounds and demonstrates that choosing aggression and retaliation is less effortful in social conflicts. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.