Boris Kleber, Associate Professor at Center for Music in the Brain, has received an infrastructure grant from Carlsbergfondet for the project “DUET: A dual-scanner fMRI audio platform for causal studies of social communication”. 

The grant allows him to acquire a new dual-scanner audio system enabling a unique fMRI hyperscanning setup for studying live human interaction between two neighbouring Siemens 3T scanners.

The platform supports real-time dialogue, vocal exchange, coordination, and co-creation between two interacting brains — across speech, nonverbal vocalisations, and music.

More about the project from the Carlsberg website:
“How does the emotional tone of our voice shape a partner’s feelings, speech, and brain during a live conversation? We link two MRI scanners with synchronized, low-latency audio, allowing two people to converse naturally between the scanners. By altering one partner’s emotional tone as they speak, we can causally test how it changes the other partner’s interaction, emotions, and brain activity.”

The infrastructure is designed as an open, collaborative resource. Feel free to get in touch with Boris Kleber if you’re interested in using it or exploring joint projects.