Distinct fNIRS Inter-Brain Coupling Patterns for Cooperation versus Competition in a Tennis Game.

ABSTRACT: Cooperation and competition represent two fundamental modes of social interaction, yet their underlying neural mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning, enabling simultaneous measurement of hemodynamic activity across individuals, offers unique insights into the neural substrates underlying naturalistic interactions. Using this technique, we investigated cross-channel inter-brain coupling (IBC) between interacting individuals during cooperative and competitive play in a motion-sensing tennis game. Compared to resting-state and solo gameplay with observation, both conditions elicit significantly enhanced not only IBC between the dyads' sensorimotor regions, but also cross-regional coupling between one participant's sensorimotor cortex an

SUBMITTER: Zhang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12342140 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature