Presentation Information
[P2-39]Influence of turn-taking regularity on respiratory activity in human conversation
*Mirei Kin and Hiroki Koda (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
Keywords:
respiratory activity; conversion; speech timing; temporal regularity; turn-taking
Human conversational communication is characterized by the dynamic alternation of speaker roles, known as turn-taking. The smooth coordination of turns requires individuals to predict the timing of their partner’s utterance onsets and offsets and to execute their own speech with precise motor timing. Since speech production depends on the voluntary control of respiration, it is plausible that respiratory activity plays a role not only in individual speech planning but also in the mutual regulation of conversational flow. Specifically, respiratory control may act as a physiological substrate for inter-individual coordination by enabling reciprocal influence between speakers’ breathing patterns. Such coordination may extend beyond vocal turn-taking and contribute to broader socio-psychological domain, including synchronization of autonomic nervous system activity. Despite its potential relevance, respiratory coupling in naturalistic conversation remains understudied. Here, we investigated how conversational context influences respiratory synchrony between two speakers. We recorded respiratory activity during dyadic conversations conducted under two conditions: face-to-face interaction and virtual interaction via video online system including unpredictable time delay. These settings allowed us to manipulate the physical co-presence of participants while keeping the conversational task comparable. The temporal aspects of dialogue, such as turn transition timing in relation to respiratory signals, were also examined following previous studies. Our preliminary analysis showed condition-dependent differences in respiratory synchronization. Our data partially suggested that synchronized breathing during smooth turns occurred more frequently in face-to-face conditions than in virtual interactions. Notably, simultaneous laughter emerged as a particularly salient event, during which participants’ respiratory rhythms temporarily aligned. These moments of affective synchronization might facilitate smoother turn transitions and more sustained conversational flow in subsequent exchanges. These findings suggest that respiration might serve not only as a substrate for speech production but also as a medium for inter-individual coordination during conversation.