Team flow is a unique brain state associated with enhanced information integration and neural synchrony

Abstract

Team flow occurs when a group of people reaches high task engagement while sharing a common goal as in sports teams and music bands. While team flow is a superior enjoyable experience to individuals experiencing flow or regular socialization, the neural basis for such superiority is still unclear. Here, we addressed this question utilizing a music rhythm task and electroencephalogram hyper-scanning. Experimental manipulations held the motor task constant while disrupted the hedonic musical correspondence to blocking flow or occluded the partner's body and task feedback to block social interaction. The manipulations' effectiveness was confirmed using psychometric ratings and an objective measure for the depth of flow experience through the inhibition of the auditory-evoked potential to a task-irrelevant stimulus. Spectral power analysis revealed higher beta/gamma power specific to team flow at the left temporal cortex. Causal interaction analysis revealed that the left temporal cortex receives information from areas encoding individual flow or socialization. The left temporal cortex was also significantly involved in integrated information at both the intra-and inter-brains levels. Moreover, team flow resulted in enhanced global inter-brain integrated information and neural synchrony. Thus, our report presents neural evidence that team flow results in a distinct brain state and suggests a neurocognitive mechanism by which the brain creates this unique experience.

A Review of Hyperscanning and Its Use in Virtual Environments

“…Researchers have also explored the concept of flow [92], as demonstrated by Shehata et al [93]. The flow state, or being "in the zone", is said to be a psychological phenomenon that develops when there is a balance between the skills of an individual and the challenge of the task, as well as clear goals, and immediate feedback [94].…”

Swinging, Fast and Slow: Multiscale Synchronisation Dynamics Reveals the Impact of an Improvisatory Approach to Performance on Music Experience

“…Among collective activities, music making and listening occupies an important place in all known human societies 11,12 , and often reveals, even within unique, cultural-specific approaches, universal elements of expressing and perceiving emotional cues 13 . As a group activity, music making requires high levels of empathy [13][14][15] , coordination, and synchrony 16 , which support the emergence of leadership 17 , improvisation 18,19 , and group states of flow 20,21 , and moreover, is known to engage audiences in a participatory, reciprocal relationship with the performers 22,23 .…”