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Ryssa Moffat

@ryssamoffat.bsky.social
1.4K followers 2.2K following 120 posts

🧠Social cognition/neuroscience postdoc: ETH Zürich🇨🇭| ⛸️🏄‍♀️synchronized skater + surfer 🔎 ryssamoffat.github.io

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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
🔗 Dataset: openneuro.org/datasets/ds0... 🔗 Dataset descriptor: doi.org/10.64898/202... 🫶 @escross.bsky.social, @ethz.ch, @cortivision.bsky.social
openneuro.org
OpenNeuro
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
📍 Digitised coordinates of #fNIRS sensors on scalp 📹 Video-based motion capture of upper body movements ✍🏻 Self-report measures 🤝 Collaborative behaviour extracted from videos 🎨 Images of drawings 💭 Subjective experiences (text and interviews) 📊 Ratings of drawings collected from external raters
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
❓ What is the InterGenSynchrony Dataset ❓ We tracked 30 same-generation and 31 intergenerational pairs of strangers who became acquainted through 6 weeks of creative drawing. The publicly available dataset includes: 🧠 366 dyadic recordings of brain activity ( #fNIRS hyperscanning) ... & ...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
📣 The InterGenSynchrony Dataset needs your vote this weekend! 🔗 neurojson.org/wiki/index.c... Submissions to the #fNIRS Open Dataset Contest 2026 are scored by experts (70%) and popular vote (30%). Please vote and share this post with colleagues!
neurojson.org
NeuroJSON Project
NeuroJSON - Scalable, searchable and verifiable neuroimaging data exchange platform
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
👵🍩👩 Over the last 3 years, I’ve aimed to get a better grasp on how intergenerational friendships form. This week on #TheLastShow, I revealed 2 reasons (1 personal, 1 scientific) that I study intergenerational bonds and some of our most recent findings. Spoiler: 🍩 are involved! 🔊 tinyurl.com/4tkack7
podcasts.apple.com
Brain Waves and Intergenerational Social Bonds
Podcast Episode · The Last Show with David Cooper · September 23 · 10m
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🧩 This piece by Eric Dolan for @psypost.bsky.social is very thoughtfully put together – I couldn't ask for a more lovely summary of our most recent work! @escross.bsky.social, @introspection.bsky.social, @ethz.ch #fNIRS #neuroscience
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🧠 One more summary of our super awesome research on intergenerational relationship development! www.eurekalert.org/news-release... @escross.bsky.social, @introspection.bsky.social, @ethz.ch, @cortivision.bsky.social
eurekalert.org
When people of different generations create together, brain activity changes
When people of different generations create art together, their brains show initially show more synchrony, and the synchrony can predict feelings of loneliness or social connection, according to a stu...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🗞️ Check out this lovely piece from @ethz.ch about our two most recent studies on intergenerational relationship formation, collaboration, and the brain! ethz.ch/en/news-and-... The research team: escross.bsky.social, introspection.bsky.social, lucanaudszus.bsky.social
linkedin.com
What happens in the brain when two people engage in joint creative activity?
Two ETH Zurich studies found that as younger and older adults grew closer over several weeks, their brain activity did not necessarily become more similar.
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Reposted by Ryssa Moffat
PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 24/08/2026
What mechanisms underlie health benefits of social interaction? @ryssamoffat.bsky.social @introspection.bsky.social @escross.bsky.social show that neural synchrony during a creative drawing program decreases in intergenerational dyads & increases in same-generation @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4gbafyY
An intergenerational dyad draws together. Without prompts and through collaboration, they create shared drawing. While they draw, their brain activity is recorded using mobile sensors and their body movements are tracked using video-based motion capture. Photograph captured by Ryssa Moffat. The participants depicted in this photograph have provided written consent for their likeness to be published alongside open-access online research outputs.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🌟 This study sheds light on brain-level mechanisms that underpin relationship development in different generational constellations, strengthening our understanding of social connection more generally. @escross.bsky.social @introspection.bsky.social @cortivision.bsky.social @ethz.ch
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🧠 🔁 🧠 We also show that people’s feelings of loneliness, as well as social closeness while interacting, influence the strength of shared brain activity.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
👵 🔁 👩 Specifically, we demonstrate that increases and decreases in the strength of the shared brain activity across encounters depend on whether people belong to the same generation or different generations.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This study shows, for the first time, how patterns of shared brain activity develop longitudinally when people meet as strangers and get to know each other by collaborating across repeated encounters.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🎊 Our study of 732 individual brain scans from 366 dyadic sessions found a home in @plosbiology.org! ✨ "Social interactions between people of same and different generations shape longitudinal changes in interpersonal neural synchrony, loneliness, and social connection”. ✨ doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Social interactions between people of same and different generations shape longitudinal changes in interpersonal neural synchrony, loneliness, and social connection
Loneliness affects health, but physiological mechanisms underlying benefits of intergenerational social interactions remain unclear, particularly how repeated encounters shape neural synchrony. This l...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
🙏 @escross.bsky.social , @cortivision.bsky.social ision.bsky.social, @ethz.ch
ision.bsky.social
ᅠ (@ision.bsky.social)
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
It is optimised for multimodal investigations into the neural, physiological, behavioural, kinematic, and subjective aspects of relationship formation within and between generations in a real-world setting. 👋 We are very open to collaborations – please reach out!
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
📍 Digitised coordinates of #fNIRS sensors on scalp 📹 Video-based motion capture of upper body movements ✍🏻 Self-report measures 🤝 Collaborative behaviour extracted from videos 🎨 Images of drawings 💭 Subjective experiences (text and interviews) 📊 Ratings of drawings collected from external raters
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Introducing a longitudinal hyperscanning dataset acquired across 6 sessions, where 30 same-generation and 31 intergenerational dyads met as strangers and became acquainted through creative drawing. It includes: 🧠 366 dyadic recordings of brain activity ( #fNIRS hyperscanning) ... & ...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
📢 Big announcement: The InterGenSynchrony Dataset is now published! 🔗 Dataset: openneuro.org/datasets/ds0... 🔗 Dataset descriptor: doi.org/10.64898/202...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This emerging two-brain state way of looking at pairs of interacting brains can give us new perspectives on the dynamics of social interaction. 🙏 @cortivision.bsky.social and Caran D'Ache 📍 @ethz.ch
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Pairs who drew simultaneously (as opposed to taking more turns) were more likely to show this two-brain state, reflecting how subtle leader and follower roles may hide below the surface of behaviour that seems simultaneous.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Increased connectivity between one's inferior frontal gyri may suggest a follower role in collaboration. In intergenerational pairs, it was typically the younger person who showed this pattern, highlighting that they may be the follower, who continuously adjusts.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
👵👩 Intergenerational pairs spent more time in this state than same-aged pairs, highlighting how the neural dynamics of collaboration differ based on the generational context.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This state involved a medium level of connectivity between the pairs' brains (specifically between temporo-parietal junctions and inferior frontal gyri). And for one person in the pair, there was especially strong connectivity between their left and right inferior frontal gyri.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
We found one two-brain state that occurred for longer stretches of time than we would expect if it were random chance.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
🧠 🎨 🧠 In a new paper, @lucanaudszus.bsky.social, @escross.bsky.social, and I examined two-brain states (lots and lots of snapshots) while pairs of people drew collaboratively and alone. We compared same generation pairs (18-35 years) to intergenerational pairs (70+ years and 18-35 years).
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
💭 Imagine you and I are drawing together. If we took snapshots of the activity in both of our brains at any given moment, would it look similar or not? And what might this say about our respective roles in our interaction? Link to paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ac...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
👋 I do! Let's connect, @bskybymidge.bsky.social! Thanks for thinking of me @stefaniehoehl.bsky.social!
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
By focussing on individuals, we stand to gain more precise knowledge about the role of brain plasticity in skill learning.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
We also propose mixing and matching neuroimaging modalities (e.g., fMRI and fNIRS) to leverage complementary data collected while participants are assessed on skills (lying in the fMRI) and while they practice skills, moving freely (wearing fNIRS).
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
We propose that by studying select individuals’ as often as is feasible (for example, daily for several weeks), we can shed light on fine-grained changes in functional brain activity that accompanies skill acquisition.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
🧠 🔎 Can we consider brain plasticity during skill learning from new angles? In a new paper, @simonleipold.bsky.social and I propose an approach that puts individual people under the magnifying glass. Link to paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Individual-specific precision neuroimaging of learning-related plasticity
Studying learning-related plasticity is central to understanding the acquisition of complex skills, for example learning to master a musical instrumen…
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
@ethz.ch, @escross.bsky.social, @tanjaulrich.bsky.social , @courtcasale.bsky.social, @lucaleisten.bsky.social, @andreaorlandi.bsky.social
z.ch
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
🔬What does the #SocialBrainSciencesLab research? Many, many topics including #SocialNeuroscience, #Aesthetics, #EmbodiedAI and #SocialRobots. 🧠 🤖 We compiled an overview of ongoing projects. If our work inspires you, reach out and say hi! @ethz.ch, @escross.bsky.social, @tanjaulrich.bsky.social
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Reposted by Ryssa Moffat
SINe Lab @sinelabdtu.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Check out our brilliant PhD student Hanlu He's @hanluhe.bsky.social 1st paper on heart-rate synchrony in real-world urban environments, replicated across 3 datasets recorded in NYC! HR sync is enhanced by social proximity, familiarity, social context, and better acoustic conditions. 🧵👇
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
This particular review process holds a special place in my heart. ❤️‍🔥 The reviewers were evidently at the peak of their game and offered razor-sharp suggestions for double checking our findings and improving the manuscript. The experience was so collaborative, I'd gladly do it all over again!
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
🐛 ...🦋 Our #fNIRS research showing that physically matching other people's movements enhances perceptual sensitivity to movement synchrony has transformed from a preprint to a publication in #ImagingNeuroscience. doi.org/10.1162/IMAG... @escross.bsky.social
doi.org
Individual abilities to estimate levels of movement synchrony predict action observation network activation
Abstract. Observers’ ability to estimate levels of movement synchrony, such as in Olympic diving or rowing, is highly variable and, in part, constrained by personality traits and enjoyment of the move...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Check out the preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... 🙏 @lucanaudszus.bsky.social & @escross.bsky.social 🙏 @cortivision.bsky.social & Caran d'Ache
doi.org
Cardiac synchrony remains stable across repeated intergenerational encounters but is enhanced during high stakes collaboration
Intergenerational social programs provide opportunities for people of all ages to form new relationships. Furthermore, existing qualitative and behavioural evidence from such programs points to health...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
3️⃣ An exception: a trending relationship between ratings of collaboration in intergenerational dyads' drawings and cardiac synchrony. 👵 👩🏼 Intergenerational collaboration may be higher stakes for some dyads, and may result in physiological arousal levels become aligned ➡️ greater cardiac synchrony.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
2️⃣ We expected the differences in collaboration, social closeness, and interpersonal distance to show up in levels of cardiac synchrony of collaborating dyads–but they didn’t. 🫀Cardiac synchrony is not overly sensitive to collaboration or social closeness.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
We found that: 1️⃣ Drawing collaboration, feelings of social closeness and interpersonal distance differ between same and intergenerational dyads, revealing different levels of comfort during collaboration. 👥 Interpersonal distance seems to track comfort levels best (closer = less comfort).
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
A few of the many things we measured were: • Cardiac synchrony • Feelings of social closeness • How close dyads sat (interpersonal distance) • Collaboration during co-drawing (assessed by external raters, who rated the use of space and the coherence of the motifs in each drawing)
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
The 2nd 🧩 from our longitudinal intergenerational art-making study sheds light on cardiac synchrony during collaboration in budding relationships. 🎨 We invited 31 intergenerational and 30 same-generation dyads to complete a 6-session creative art-making program.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
🫀🖼️🫀What can 732 co-created drawings and heart rates from 61 dyads teach us about intergenerational relationship development and collaboration? doi.org/10.1101/2025... @escross.bsky.social @lucanaudszus.bsky.social
doi.org
Cardiac synchrony remains stable across repeated intergenerational encounters but is enhanced during high stakes collaboration
Intergenerational social programs provide opportunities for people of all ages to form new relationships. Furthermore, existing qualitative and behavioural evidence from such programs points to health...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
🙏 also too @cortivision.bsky.social & Caran D'Ache
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Preprint hot off the press: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🙏 @introspection.bsky.social & @escross.bsky.social
biorxiv.org
Longitudinal intergenerational hyperscanning reveals indices of relationship formation and loneliness
Loneliness is globally acknowledged as a severe and burgeoning health risk, fuelling interest in helping people of all ages form meaningful social connections. One promising approach consists of inter...
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
🌟 With these findings, we make a number of novel contributions: ✅ Interbrain synchrony in intergenerational pairs that include seniors ✅ Multi-session, longitudinal changes in interbrain synchrony relating to relationship formation ✅ The impact of loneliness on interbrain synchrony
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
4️⃣ Loneliness impacts interbrain synchrony while intergenerational pairs draw independently—a potentially promising biomarker of changes in loneliness.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
3️⃣ Across sessions, interbrain synchrony during collaborative drawing increased in same generation pairs and decreased in intergenerational pairs. This likely reflects how increased familiarity makes intergenerational pairs more relaxed and same generation pairs more daring.
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Ryssa Moffat @ryssamoffat.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
✨Data in hand, we discovered that: 1️⃣ Loneliness decreased across sessions and feelings of social closeness increased.   2️⃣ On average, interbrain synchrony during collaboration was similar for same generation and intergenerational pairs (greater for collaborative drawing than solo drawing).
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