When people work together on a job, even if they aren’t in the same room, their brains begin to synchronize. Neuropsychologia featured the related research.
When interacting with others, our brains light up in very comparable ways. Empathy and social collaboration in person have both been connected to this kind of brain synchronization. To yet, however, it has been unclear whether or not the same level of brain sync occurs when people are separated by space or time, as is the case when talking remotely or digitally.
Researchers at the University of Helsinki wanted to know whether brainwave synchronization is possible when interacting persons are not present, cannot see each other, and are chatting online, since this has become more common since the epidemic.
They had 42 participants in all, and they all took part in a collaborative coordination assignment where they raced an automobile together while sitting in different soundproof rooms.
Players communicated only via button pushes used to direct their virtual racing car’s on-screen movements. Each player was responsible for one aspect of the game, such as adjusting the vehicle’s speed or steering. While participants were engaged in their favorite games, scientists monitored their brain activity using EEG.
Researchers found evidence of brain-to-brain synchronization throughout participants’ time spent playing the online cooperative game by examining the data collected from their efforts. They also found that more activity in the alpha and gamma frequency ranges was associated with enhanced performance in teams of two.
The scientists also found that the degree of physiological synchrony between participants and their cooperative performance was a good indicator of the quality of social connection.
This research demonstrates that inter-brain synchronization occurs and can be accurately detected during cooperative online gaming. One of the study’s authors, Valtteri Wikström, a doctoral researcher, emphasized the importance of developing components of games that lead to improved synchrony and empathy.
Project Manager Katri Saarikivi argues that improved online connections, happiness, and productivity may be achieved by creating interactive digital experiences that trigger underlying processes of empathy.
Neuroscience News and Neuropsychologia
