The neural mechanism for selectively tuning in to a target speaker while tuning out the others in a multi-speaker situation (i.e., the cocktail-party effect) remains elusive. Here we addressed this issue by measuring brain activity simultaneously from a listener and from multiple speakers while they were involved in naturalistic conversations. Results consistently show selectively enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) between the listener and the attended speaker at left temporal-parietal junction, compared with that between the listener and the unattended speaker across different multi-speaker situations. Moreover, INS increases significantly prior to the occurrence of verbal responses, and even when the listener's brain activity precedes that of the speaker. The INS increase is independent of brain-to-speech synchronization in both the anatomical location and frequency range. These findings suggest that INS underlies the selective process in a multi-speaker situation through neural predictions at the content level but not the sensory level of speech.

中文翻译：

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在自然嘈杂的情况下有选择地调入目标说话者的神经机制。

在多说话者的情况下（即鸡尾酒会效果）有选择地调入目标说话者同时调出其他说话者的神经机制仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们通过同时测量听众和多位演讲者参与自然主义对话时的大脑活动来解决这个问题。结果一致地表明，在不同的多说话者情况下，左颞顶顶交界处的听者与值班发言者之间的选择性人际神经同步（INS），与听者与无人值守发言者之间的人际神经同步（INS）相比有所提高。而且，在发生口头反应之前，甚至当听者的大脑活动先于说话者的大脑活动时，INS也会显着增加。INS的增加在解剖位置和频率范围上均与脑语音同步无关。这些发现表明，INS通过在内容级别而不是在语音的感觉级别的神经预测，在多说话者情况下成为选择性过程的基础。