Over the past two and a half years, it has been easy to feel disconnected because of all the hours spent playing online games with friends.
Even when we're alone, our brains may be able to work together with others.
A new study shows that people can play a game together online even when they're not in a group.
Synchronization is important to a healthy society because it is linked to better empathy and cooperation.
It does happen when we're face to face.
One of the team members says that they were able to show that the brain can be synchronized without the other person present.
There is a chance to investigate the role of the social brain mechanism in online interactions.
42 Finns were put into pairs and asked to play a game where they worked together to control a racing car around four different tracks.
After completing a run, the participants would switch roles and play each track twice.
Two people were split up into soundproof rooms, so they didn't interact with each other.
They didn't have a headset because they weren't talking with each other outside of the game.
The researchers were able to see how well they matched each other's brain activity with the help of the two students hooked up to the equipment.
The team found that the players were able to sync their brainwaves.
The team created false pairs from the data to make sure the effect was legit.
The researchers were able to show that the brain sync was unique to those who'd played together.
Success in the game was related to the brain connection.
The better short-term performance in the game was due to the moresynced up participants' gamma rays. The higher the alpha, the better.
The brains become more synchronized during the second session compared to the first, despite the fact that they became less synchronized over the course of a gaming session.
We have a lot to learn about what's going on here because we're very fresh in our understanding of how brains interact online.
We know that gaming can help with decision making. It is promising to know that there may be opportunities in the future to use gaming to make us feel better about ourselves and each other.
Inter-brain synchronization can be measured, and this study shows that it can be done.
There are aspects of games that can have a positive impact on other areas.
The next step is to find a way to measure the quality of these online interactions and also figure out which aspects of working together in an online game are best promoting the type of connection we get from social interaction.
In a world where more and more of our learning and connection is happening online, it's important that we understand the implications of that for social brain development.
"If we can build interactive digital experiences which engage fundamental mechanisms of empathy, it can lead to better social relationships, well-being, and productivity online," says cognitive neuroscientists, who managed the project.
The research has appeared in a journal.
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