Theory and Method for Studying How Media Messages Prompt Shared Brain Responses Along the Sensation-to-Cognition Continuum

Abstract When members of an audience are exposed to the same messages, their brains will, to a certain degree, exhibit similar responses. These similar, and thus shared audience responses constitute the recruitment of sensory, perceptual, and higher-level neurocognitive processes, which occur separately in the brain of each individual, but in a collectively shared fashion across the audience. A method called inter-subject-correlation (ISC) analysis allows to reveal these shared responses. This manuscript introduces a theoretical model of brain function that explains why shared brain responses occur and how they emerge along a gradient from sensation to cognition as individuals process the same message content. This model makes results from ISC-based studies more interpretable from a communication perspective, helps organize the results from existing studies across different subfields, and generates testable predictions. The article discusses how research at the nexus of media, audience research, and neuroscience contributes to and advances communication theory.