China Social Science Review

No.2, 2025

 

 

Pan Yafeng

 

Second-person neuroscience is an emerging research field focused on investigating the neural mechanisms underlying real-time, bidirectional social interaction. This area of study highlights the essential differences between genuine social engagement and traditional observational approaches in terms of neural processes. However, current research in second-person neuroscience faces several major challenges, including unclear neural mechanisms, weak theoretical interpretations, and low effect sizes in samples. These issues significantly hinder the field’s progress. This article reviews existing methods and theoretical explorations in second-person neuroscience, advocating for the use of high ecological validity paradigms capable of simultaneously monitoring and recording brain activity from two or more individuals, in order to deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms of social interaction. Building on this, the article emphasizes the need to address data complexity, methodological biases, and debates over causal mechanisms in current research. It also outlines three major emerging trends: multi-person neurofeedback, group-level computational modeling, and multimodal recording.