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Fairhurst MT, Tajadura-Jiménez A, Keller PE, Deroy O. You, me, and us: Maintaining self-other distinction enhances coordination, agency, and affect. iScience 2023; 26:108253. [PMID: 38025777 PMCID: PMC10679890 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Coordinating our actions with others changes how we behave and feel. Here, we provide evidence that interacting with others rests on a balance between self-other integration and segregation. Using a group walking paradigm, participants were instructed to synchronize with a metronome while listening to the sounds of 8 virtual partners. By manipulating the similarity and synchronicity of the partners' steps to the participant's own, our novel auditory task disentangles the effects of synchrony and self-other similarity and examines their contribution to both collective and individual awareness. We measured temporal coordination (step timing regularity and synchrony with the metronome), gait patterns, and subjective reports about sense of self and group cohesion. The main findings show that coordination is best when participants hear distinct but synchronous virtual others, leading to greater subjective feelings of agency, strength, dominance, and happiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merle T. Fairhurst
- Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Munich Centre for Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Ana Tajadura-Jiménez
- i_mBODY Lab, DEI Interactive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
- UCL Interaction Centre (UCLIC), University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Peter E. Keller
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ophelia Deroy
- Munich Centre for Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
- Faculty of Philosophy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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2
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Rowlands AV, Maylor B, Dawkins NP, Dempsey PC, Edwardson CL, Soczawa-Stronczyk AA, Bocian M, Patterson MR, Yates T. Stepping up with GGIR: Validity of step cadence derived from wrist-worn research-grade accelerometers using the verisense step count algorithm. J Sports Sci 2022; 40:2182-2190. [PMID: 36384415 DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2022.2147134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The Verisense Step Count Algorithm facilitates generation of steps from wrist-worn accelerometers. Based on preliminary evidence suggesting a proportional bias with overestimation at low steps/day, but underestimation at high steps/day, the algorithm parameters have been revised. We aimed to establish validity of the original and revised algorithms relative to waist-worn ActiGraph step cadence. We also assessed whether step cadence was similar across accelerometer brand and wrist. Ninety-eight participants (age: 58.6±11.1 y) undertook six walks (~500 m hard path) at different speeds (cadence: 92.9±9.5-127.9±8.7 steps/min) while wearing three accelerometers on each wrist (Axivity, GENEActiv, ActiGraph) and an ActiGraph on the waist. Of these, 24 participants also undertook one run (~1000 m). Mean bias for the original algorithm was -21 to -26.1 steps/min (95% limits of agreement (LoA) ~±65 steps/min) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) 17-22%. This was unevenly distributed with increasing error as speed increased. Mean bias and 95%LoA were halved with the revised algorithm parameters (~-10 to -12 steps/min, 95%LoA ~30 steps/min, MAPE ~10-12%). Performance was similar across brand and wrist. The revised step algorithm provides a more valid measure of step cadence than the original, with MAPE similar to recently reported wrist-wear summary MAPE (7-11%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex V Rowlands
- Assessment of Movement Behaviours Group (Amber), Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK.,Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Benjamin Maylor
- Assessment of Movement Behaviours Group (Amber), Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK
| | - Nathan P Dawkins
- Assessment of Movement Behaviours Group (Amber), Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK.,School of Social and Health Sciences, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, UK
| | - Paddy C Dempsey
- Assessment of Movement Behaviours Group (Amber), Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK.,MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK.,Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Charlotte L Edwardson
- Assessment of Movement Behaviours Group (Amber), Leicester Lifestyle and Health Research Group, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK
| | - Artur A Soczawa-Stronczyk
- School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,Bridge Engineering and Civil Structures Team, Buro Happold, London, UK
| | - Mateusz Bocian
- School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,Biomechanics and Immersive Technology Laboratory, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.,Department of Roads, Bridges, Railways and Airports, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland
| | - Matthew R Patterson
- Shimmer Research Ltd., The Realtime Building, Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Tom Yates
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, UK.,Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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Emergence of the London Millennium Bridge instability without synchronisation. Nat Commun 2021; 12:7223. [PMID: 34893627 PMCID: PMC8664840 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27568-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The pedestrian-induced instability of the London Millennium Bridge is a widely used example of Kuramoto synchronisation. Yet, reviewing observational, experimental, and modelling evidence, we argue that increased coherence of pedestrians’ foot placement is a consequence of, not a cause of the instability. Instead, uncorrelated pedestrians produce positive feedback, through negative damping on average, that can initiate significant lateral bridge vibration over a wide range of natural frequencies. We present a simple general formula that quantifies this effect, and illustrate it through simulation of three mathematical models, including one with strong propensity for synchronisation. Despite subtle effects of gait strategies in determining precise instability thresholds, our results show that average negative damping is always the trigger. More broadly, we describe an alternative to Kuramoto theory for emergence of coherent oscillations in nature; collective contributions from incoherent agents need not cancel, but can provide positive feedback on average, leading to global limit-cycle motion. The pedestrian-induced oscillation of the London Millennium Bridge is considered as an example of emerging synchronisation. Belykh et al. provide an alternative mechanism for emergence of coherent oscillatory bridge dynamics where synchrony is a consequence, not the cause, of the instability.
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O'Mara S. Biopsychosocial Functions of Human Walking and Adherence to Behaviourally Demanding Belief Systems: A Narrative Review. Front Psychol 2021; 12:654122. [PMID: 34421710 PMCID: PMC8371042 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.654122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Human walking is a socially embedded and shaped biological adaptation: it frees our hands, makes our minds mobile, and is deeply health promoting. Yet, today, physical inactivity is an unsolved, major public health problem. However, globally, tens of millions of people annually undertake ancient, significant and enduring traditions of physiologically and psychologically arduous walks (pilgrimages) of days-to-weeks extent. Pilgrim walking is a significant human activity requiring weighty commitments of time, action and belief, as well as community support. Paradoxically, human walking is most studied on treadmills, not ‘in the wild’, while mechanistically vital, treadmill studies of walking cannot, in principle, address why humans walk extraordinary distances together to demonstrate their adherence to a behaviourally demanding belief system. Pilgrim walkers provide a rich ‘living laboratory’ bridging humanistic inquiries, to progressive theoretical and empirical investigations of human walking arising from a behaviourally demanding belief system. Pilgrims vary demographically and undertake arduous journeys on precisely mapped routes of tracked, titrated doses and durations on terrain of varying difficulty, allowing investigations from molecular to cultural levels of analysis. Using the reciprocal perspectives of ‘inside→out’ (where processes within brain and body initiate, support and entrain movement) and ‘outside→in’ (where processes in the world beyond brain and body drive activity within brain and body), we examine how pilgrim walking might shape personal, social and transcendental processes, revealing potential mechanisms supporting the body and brain in motion, to how pilgrim walking might offer policy solutions for physical inactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane O'Mara
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Likens AD, Wiltshire TJ. Windowed multiscale synchrony: modeling time-varying and scale-localized interpersonal coordination dynamics. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:232-245. [PMID: 32991716 PMCID: PMC7812625 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are pervasive in human life with varying forms of interpersonal coordination emerging and spanning different modalities (e.g. behaviors, speech/language, and neurophysiology). However, during social interactions, as in any dynamical system, patterns of coordination form and dissipate at different scales. Historically, researchers have used aggregate measures to capture coordination over time. While those measures (e.g. mean relative phase, cross-correlation, coherence) have provided a wealth of information about coordination in social settings, some evidence suggests that multiscale coordination may change over the time course of a typical empirical observation. To address this gap, we demonstrate an underutilized method, windowed multiscale synchrony, that moves beyond quantifying aggregate measures of coordination by focusing on how the relative strength of coordination changes over time and the scales that comprise social interaction. This method involves using a wavelet transform to decompose time series into component frequencies (i.e. scales), preserving temporal information and then quantifying phase synchronization at each of these scales. We apply this method to both simulated and empirical interpersonal physiological and neuromechanical data. We anticipate that demonstrating this method will stimulate new insights on the mechanisms and functions of synchrony in interpersonal contexts using neurophysiological and behavioral measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron D Likens
- Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street Omaha, NE 68182
| | - Travis J Wiltshire
- Department of Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, (Room D104) Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB, Tilburg, The Netherlands
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Leadership and tempo perturbation affect coordination in medium-sized groups. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4940. [PMID: 33654114 PMCID: PMC7925598 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81504-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In marching bands, sports, dance and virtually all human group behaviour, we coordinate our actions with others. Coordinating actions in time and space can act as a social glue, facilitating bonding among people. However, much of our understanding about coordination dynamics is based on research into dyadic interactions. Little is known about the nature of the sensorimotor underpinnings and social bonding outcomes of coordination in medium-sized groups-the type of groups, in which most everyday teamwork takes place. In this study, we explored how the presence of a leader and an unexpected perturbation influence coordination and cohesion in a naturalistic setting. In groups of seven, participants were instructed to walk in time to an auditory pacing signal. We found that the presence of a reliable leader enhanced coordination with the target tempo, which was disrupted when the leader abruptly changed their movement tempo. This effect was not observed on coordination with the group members. Moreover, participants' perceptions of being a follower and group cooperativeness increased in the presence of a leader. This study extends our knowledge about coordination beyond previous work on dyads. We discuss our results in light of sensorimotor coupling and social cohesion theories of coordination in groups.
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Soczawa-Stronczyk AA, Bocian M. Gait coordination in overground walking with a virtual reality avatar. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:200622. [PMID: 32874653 PMCID: PMC7428218 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Little information is currently available on interpersonal gait synchronization in overground walking. This is caused by difficulties in continuous gait monitoring over many steps while ensuring repeatability of experimental conditions. These challenges could be overcome by using immersive virtual reality (VR), assuming it offers ecological validity. To this end, this study provides some of the first evidence of gait coordination patterns for overground walking dyads in VR. Six subjects covered the total distance of 27 km while walking with a pacer. The pacer was either a real human subject or their anatomically and biomechanically representative VR avatar driven by an artificial intelligence algorithm. Side-by-side and front-to-back arrangements were tested without and with the instruction to synchronize steps. Little evidence of spontaneous gait coordination was found in both visual conditions, but persistent gait coordination patterns were found in the case of intentional synchronization. Front-to-back rather than side-by-side arrangement consistently yielded in the latter case higher mean synchronization strength index. Although the mean magnitude of synchronization strength index was overall comparable in both visual conditions when walking under the instruction to synchronize steps, quantitative and qualitative differences were found which might be associated with common limitations of VR solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mateusz Bocian
- School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- Biomechanics and Immersive Technology Laboratory, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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