English Medical Biology (-tech,-chem,micro-) neuroscience - neural correlates of emotions

Hi,
I was wondering whether the verb “engage” in the following passage might mean “activate”, indicating a somewhat “causal relationship” between “experiences that heighten meaningful connections with others” and the “biological systems for trust and affection, alongside circuits for pleasure and reward”.
Or maybe “engage” here is not so strong as “activate” and hints more at a “correlation” between the two?
Many thanks for your help!

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As Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Keltner’s colleague at the GGSC, says, “Experiences that heighten meaningful connections with others—like noticing how another person has helped you, acknowledging the effort it took, and savoring how you benefited from it— *** engage *** biological systems for trust and affection, alongside circuits for pleasure and reward.”