Eye to eye, face to face and brain to brain: novel approaches to study the behavioral dynamics and neural mechanisms of social interactions

• Gaze stimuli are effective in modulating attention and perception in human observers.
• People use gaze to acquire information about others, but also use it to interact.
• Certain gaze-related phenomena are interactively constituted.
• New tasks unveil the dynamics and neural mechanisms of gaze-based interactions.

The gaze of others fascinates us from birth onwards. Traditionally, experimental approaches to study the effects of gaze have focused on how human observers respond to gaze cues and how attention, perception and action control is influenced by them. In recent years, the investigation of gaze behavior has moved toward the inclusion of more ecologically valid conditions, in which gaze signals are exchanged as part of an ongoing reciprocal social interaction. Such an ‘interactive turn’ is beginning to yield new insights into the behavioral dynamics and neural mechanisms of gaze behavior as they unfold in real life.