Trends Cogn Sci. 2026 Mar 25:S1364-6613(26)00035-5. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2026.02.010. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Social interactions require integrating information across multiple timescales, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We review evidence suggesting that intrinsic neural timescales (INTs) may be a key mechanism enabling this integration, with the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) serving as a critical hub during social interactions. INTs form a cortical hierarchy for multiscale temporal processing, and differences in this hierarchy are linked to social impairments across neuropsychiatric conditions. The rTPJ dynamically integrates fast mirroring and slow mentalizing processes; interbrain synchrony there predicts success in social interactions, while mismatched timescales between individuals cause communication breakdowns. We propose that this INT and rTPJ framework unifies dual-process theories within a single neurophysiological mechanism, providing a novel, testable account of social interactions and their impairments.
PMID:41887983 | DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2026.02.010
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