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Abstract

Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of language have embraced naturalistic stimuli such as movies and audiobooks. However, most open-access neuroimaging datasets still focus on single-speaker scenarios, falling short of capturing the complexity of real-life, multi-speaker communication. To address this gap, we present the BABA functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) dataset, in which two independent cohorts (N = 30 each) viewed the same 25-minute excerpt from a Chinese reality TV show—one group in the fMRI scanner and the other in the MEG scanner. Set in a rural village, the show features 11 speakers, including five father–child pairs, engaging in spontaneous, emotionally rich dialogue with overlapping speech, rapid turn-taking, and natural interruptions. The combined use of fMRI and MEG allows researchers to explore both spatial and temporal aspects of language processing. This resource opens new avenues for studying neural mechanisms of multi-speaker comprehension, attentional shifts, and authentic social communication.

Details

1009240
Company / organization
Title
Naturalistic fMRI and MEG recordings during viewing of a reality TV show
Author
Li, Jixing 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wang, Qiang 2 ; Wang, Yike 1 ; Wang, Chengcheng 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ma, Zhengwu 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Xu, Ruixuan 3 ; Feng, Shiyan 3 ; Jiang, Xiaoming 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Meng, Zhaoli 2 

 Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong (ROR: https://ror.org/03q8dnn23) (GRID: grid.35030.35) (ISNI: 0000 0004 1792 6846) 
 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China (ROR: https://ror.org/007mrxy13) (GRID: grid.412901.f) (ISNI: 0000 0004 1770 1022) 
 Institute of Language Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China (ROR: https://ror.org/01bn89z48) (GRID: grid.412515.6) (ISNI: 0000 0001 1702 5894) 
Publication title
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
1809
Number of pages
13
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Section
Data Descriptor
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Place of publication
London
Country of publication
United States
Publication subject
e-ISSN
20524463
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
Document type
Journal Article
Publication history
 
 
Online publication date
2025-11-18
Milestone dates
2025-10-09 (Registration); 2025-04-08 (Received); 2025-10-06 (Accepted)
Publication history
 
 
   First posting date
18 Nov 2025
ProQuest document ID
3273120421
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/naturalistic-fmri-meg-recordings-during-viewing/docview/3273120421/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2025. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the "License"). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
Last updated
2025-11-20
Database
ProQuest One Academic