Dataset Information

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation.

ABSTRACT: Performers improvising together describe special moments of 'being in the zone' - periods of high performance, synchrony, and enhanced sense of togetherness. Existing evidence suggests a possible route for attaining togetherness - interpersonal synchrony, the fine-grained sensory-motor coordination that promotes social connectedness. Here, we investigated the physiological characteristics of togetherness using a practice from theater and dance, the mirror game. Pairs of expert improvisers jointly improvised synchronized linear motion, while their motion tracks and cardiovascular activity were continuously monitored. Players also provided dynamic ratings of togetherness while watching video recordings of their games. We identified periods of togetherness using kinematic and subjective markers and assessed their physiological characteristics. The kinematic and the subjective measures of togetherness showed some agreement, with more extensive game periods being marked by the subjective than the kinematic one. Game rounds with high rates of togetherness were characterized by increased players' cardiovascular activity, increased correlation of players' heart rates (HRs), and increased motion intensity. By comparing motion segments with similar motion intensity, we showed that moments of togetherness in the mirror game were marked by increased players' HRs, regardless of motion intensity. This pattern was robust for the subjectively defined periods of togetherness, while showing a marginal effect for the kinematically defined togetherness. Building upon similar findings in flow research we suggest that the observed increase of players' HRs during togetherness periods in the mirror game might indicate the enhanced engagement and enjoyment reported by performers going into 'the zone.' The suggested approach, combining temporal measurements of kinematic, physiological and subjective responses, demonstrates how the dynamics of spontaneously emerging dyadic states can be studied empirically.

SUBMITTER: Noy L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4419713 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation.

Noy Lior L Levit-Binun Nava N Golland Yulia Y

Frontiers in human neuroscience 20150505

Performers improvising together describe special moments of 'being in the zone' - periods of high performance, synchrony, and enhanced sense of togetherness. Existing evidence suggests a possible route for attaining togetherness - interpersonal synchrony, the fine-grained sensory-motor coordination that promotes social connectedness. Here, we investigated the physiological characteristics of togetherness using a practice from theater and dance, the mirror game. Pairs of expert improvisers jointl ...[more]

PMID: 25999832

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Project description:Recent research on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) suggests that individuals with autism may have a basic deficit in synchronizing with others, and that this difficulty may lead to more complex social and communicative deficits. Here, we examined synchronization during an open-ended joint improvisation (JI) paradigm, called the mirror game (MG). In the MG, two players take turns leading, following, and jointly improvising motion using two handles set on parallel tracks, while their motion tracks are recorded with high temporal and spatial resolution. A series of previous studies have shown that players in the MG attain moments of highly synchronized co-confident (CC) motion, in which there is no typical kinematic pattern of leader and reactive follower. It has been suggested that during these moments players act as a coupled unit and feel high levels of connectedness. Here, we aimed to assess whether participants with ASD are capable of attaining CC, and whether their MG performance relates to broader motor and social skills. We found that participants with ASD (n = 34) can indeed attain CC moments when playing with an expert improviser, though their performance was attenuated in several ways, compared to typically developing (TD) participants (n = 35). Specifically, ASD participants had lower rates of CC, compared with TD participants, which was most pronounced during the following rounds. In addition, the duration of their CC segments was shorter, across all rounds. When controlling for participants' motor skills (both on the MG console, and more broadly) some of the variability in MG performance was explained, but group differences remained. ASD participants' alexithymia further correlated with their difficulty following another's lead; though other social skills did not relate to MG performance. Participants' subjective reports of the game suggest that other cognitive and emotional factors, such as attention, motivation, and reward-processing, which were not directly measured in the experiment, may impact their performance. Together, these results show that ASD participants can attain moments of high motor synchronization with an expert improviser, even during an open-ended task. Future studies should examine the ways in which these skills may be further harnessed in clinical settings.

Project description:BackgroundSince the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in December 2019, lifestyle has been changing to an online-based learning and working environment rather than on-site, and improvisation training is no exception. However, no research compares the efficacy of online versus on-site training. Although we believed that the most effective way to learn improvisation is an on-site format, it is important to explore how format differences can affect learners.MethodWe offer three types of training such as on-site training (n = 6) (Consisting of 1 female with age ≥40 and <50, and 5 males with ages ≥20 and <50), hybrid training (Instructor participates from online and learners participate on-site) (n = 120) (Consisting of 55 female with age ≥15 and <20, and 65 males with ages ≥15 and <50), and online training (n = 20) (Consisting of 4 female with age ≥20 and <30, and 16 males with ages ≥20 and <50) We collected pretest, test, and posttest data by using the Kansei Analyzer, a simplified electroencephalograph (EEG) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire.ResultsAll formats of training displayed an increase in vigor and a decrease in depression, confusion, tension, anger, and fatigue. The online training displayed better results than the on-site training. Regardless of the format, all training displayed an increase in stress during the activities and a decrease in stress after the activity without changes in other indexes. Additionally, on-site training displayed an increase in sleepiness and stress during the activities. Some participants were tested twice but no significant differences were found between the initial results and the secondary results.ConclusionIn this study, we found evidence that online improvisation can lead to the prevention of depressive symptoms and can function as a method for the reduction of stress in conjunction with the increase of individual vigor. However, a future study is required due to the low number of participants and the absence of POMS data for the on-site training. Any future studies should account for these factors while examining other data such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and pulse.

Project description:Greenhouse production of baby leaf vegetables grown in hydroponic floating trays has become extremely popular in recent years. Rocket (Eruca sativa Mill.) can grow in temperatures varying between 10 and 20 °C; nevertheless, a root-zone temperature (RZT) range of 18-23 °C is considered optimal for high productivity, photosynthesis, and production of metabolites. Maintaining such temperatures in winter raises production costs and prevents sustainability. In this study, we tested the impact of lower RZT on plants' status and recorded their responses while providing energy for heating using photovoltaic solar panels. We used three hydroponic tanks for cultivation; a non-heated (control) tank (12 °C) and two heated tanks; a solar panel-powered one (16 °C) and a public grid-powered one (22 °C). Methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphisms (MSAP) analysis of global methylation profiles and chlorophyll fluorescence analysis were employed to assess methylation and physiology levels of rocket leaves. We found that there is demethylation at 16 °C RZT in comparison to 22 °C RZT. Reduction of temperature at 12 °C did not reduce methylation levels further but rather increased them. Furthermore, at 16 °C, the effective quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry (ΦPSII) was significantly higher, with a higher PSII electron transport rate (ETR) and a significantly decreased non-regulated energy loss (ΦΝO), suggesting a better light energy use by rocket plants with higher photosynthetic performance. ΦPSII was significantly negatively correlated with DNA methylation levels. Our results show that at 16 °C RZT, where plants grow efficiently without being affected by the cold, DNA methylation and photosynthesis apparatus systems are altered. These findings corroborate previous results where hydroponic production of rocket at RZT of 16 °C is accompanied by sufficient yield showing that rocket can effectively grow in suboptimal yet sustainable root-zone temperatures.

Dataset Information

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation.

Publications

Being in the zone: physiological markers of togetherness in joint improvisation.

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