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Surprising Science

‘Clicking’ with Someone

What happens when you are on 'the same wavelength' as someone? New neurological data suggests physical traits are behind feeling a deep connection with someone.

“When two people experience a deep connection, they’re informally described as being on the same wavelength. There may be neurological truth to that.” Wired finds evidence of “clicking” with someone: “Brain scans of a speaker and listener showed their neural activity synchronizing during storytelling. The stronger their reported connection, the closer the coupling. … while the brain regions involved are linked to language, their precise functions are not clear. But even if the findings are general, they support what psychologists call the ‘theory of interactive linguistic alignment’—a fancy way of saying that talking brings people closer by making them share a common conceptual ground.”


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