TY - JOUR
T1 - Neural correlates underpinning synchronized movement of double scull rowers
AU - Hirao, Takahiro
AU - Masaki, Hiroaki
N1 - Funding Information:
A portion of this study was presented at the 45th annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Sport Psychology. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17K20017 and 19K19956 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The authors would like to thank Yuka Suo for her help with the data collection and the crews of the Boat Team of Waseda University for their participation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - We investigated the neural correlates underpinning synchronized movement in rowers using a neural index for social interaction termed the phi complex. Phi 1 and phi 2 indicate the enhancement and reduction of mirror neuron activation, respectively. We hypothesized that in a leader–follower relation, followers would exhibit a larger phi 2 power than leaders due to enhanced mirror neuron activation by the followers to accurately mimic their partner’s movements. We also expected that brain activation underlying social interaction would be enhanced during synchronization. Although phi 2 was not modulated by role (leader vs. follower) or condition (usual-pair vs. unusual-pair), the statistical analysis suggested the relationship between the magnitude of phi 2 and empathetic ability in followers in the usual-pair condition. Given that the activation of the mirror neuron system underlies empathic ability, it is plausible that the participants used the mirror neuron system to follow the movement of a usual partner. In other words, the leader in the synchronization did not need to use the mirror neuron system, which was consistent with the result of a larger phi 1 for leading than following the movement. These results suggest that the neural correlates of empathy may be used to synchronize with partners as the follower.
AB - We investigated the neural correlates underpinning synchronized movement in rowers using a neural index for social interaction termed the phi complex. Phi 1 and phi 2 indicate the enhancement and reduction of mirror neuron activation, respectively. We hypothesized that in a leader–follower relation, followers would exhibit a larger phi 2 power than leaders due to enhanced mirror neuron activation by the followers to accurately mimic their partner’s movements. We also expected that brain activation underlying social interaction would be enhanced during synchronization. Although phi 2 was not modulated by role (leader vs. follower) or condition (usual-pair vs. unusual-pair), the statistical analysis suggested the relationship between the magnitude of phi 2 and empathetic ability in followers in the usual-pair condition. Given that the activation of the mirror neuron system underlies empathic ability, it is plausible that the participants used the mirror neuron system to follow the movement of a usual partner. In other words, the leader in the synchronization did not need to use the mirror neuron system, which was consistent with the result of a larger phi 1 for leading than following the movement. These results suggest that the neural correlates of empathy may be used to synchronize with partners as the follower.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-82392-0
DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-82392-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 33536538
AN - SCOPUS:85100383376
VL - 11
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 2981
ER -