Interpersonal Neural Synchronization During Cooperative Behavior of Basketball Players: A fNIRS-Based Hyperscanning Study

Abstract

Accumulating evidence has consistently shown that team-based sports (such as basketball) are beneficial to interpersonal cooperation. However, its neural correlate remains to be discovered, especially in the perspective of two-person neuroscience. In this study, 12 dyads of basketball players and 12 dyads of college students who had no experience of team-based sports training were asked to perform joint-drawing task and control task. During task performance, neural activities were recorded in frontal area by the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning approach. The results demonstrated that dyads of basketball players were faster to finish joint-drawing task and showed higher subjective cooperativeness than dyads of college students. Meanwhile, significant interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal area only when pairs of basketball players performed joint-drawing task, but not control task. Therefore, we provide the first piece of inter-brain evidence for enhanced cooperative behavior in the individuals with team-based sports training, which could make us deeply understand exact neural correlate for experience-dependent changes of cognitions in humans.

What hyperscanning and brain connectivity for hemodynamic (fNIRS), electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioral measures can tell us about prosocial behavior.

“…Specifically, some studies that have used fNIRS for social processes investigation have observed a greater activation of prefrontal areas, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), most involved in the implementation of co-operative behaviors (Balconi et al, 2019a, 2019b, 2020; Balconi & Pagani, 2014, 2015) and in the management of social interactions (Balconi & Molteni, 2016; Kalbe et al, 2010). In particular, as reported by previous studies, during the performance of co-operative tasks, unlike those of control, an increase of the interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) occurs in the prefrontal area (Li et al, 2020; Lindenberger et al, 2009; Metzger et al, 2017).…”

EEG hyperscanning in motor rehabilitation: a position paper

“…Over time, these interpersonal connections may lead to increased engagement which may be correlated with the functional outcomes of each patient such as motor learning or skill acquisition. A previous study in healthy individuals supports this hypothesis, showing that there is greater behavioral synchrony and inter-brain synchronization between basketball teammates compared to strangers during a joint drawing task [ 58 ]. Additionally, the influence of Patient–Machine interactions could be explored in larger groups as well.…”

Cooperative Behavior Evokes Interbrain Synchrony in the Prefrontal and Temporoparietal Cortex: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of fNIRS Hyperscanning Studies

“…In one of them, participants tried to synchronize their taps (cooperation) or be faster than the co-actor (competition; Cui et al, 2012 ), while in the other study, bidirectional and unidirectional tapping was compared ( Dai et al, 2018 ). Lastly, one study compared interbrain synchrony in joint (synchronized) versus independent drawing ( Li et al, 2020 ). In sum, various types of tasks were found to study cooperation and interbrain synchrony with fNIRS.…”

“…Interestingly, different subparts of PFC were reported to be synchronized in different tasks. One set of studies (six studies, Xue et al, 2018 ; Lu and Hao, 2019 ; Lu et al, 2019a , b ; Y. Li et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2020 ) that required flexibility in solving a problem (realistic, creativity, and math problems) or drawing together show interbrain synchrony in dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). One of the primary functions of DLPFC reported in intra brain studies is cognitive flexibility related to attention switch ( Monsell, 2003 ).…”