Global Study of Long Term Heart Rhythm Synchronization in Groups

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2024 Nov 20

PMID 39562581

Authors

Nachum Plonka

Mike Atkinson

Rollin McCraty

Germaine Cornelissen

A Chase Turner

Minvydas Ragulskis

Alfonsas Vainoras

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Heart rhythm measurements over time reflect important elements of Autonomic Nervous System dynamics. Synchronization among the heart rhythms of multiple participants has been observed, but this study uses the first global dataset collected that measures synchronization at several locations across the globe continuously for multiple weeks. For 15 days, 104 participants located in California (USA), Lithuania, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and England underwent continuous ambulatory heart rhythm monitoring. They were not instructed to perform tasks together. Significant long-term correlations were observed across participants within the same region, for just the groups in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. This is surprising, given that each participant has an individualized life and distinct heart rate. In a different analysis using population-mean cosinor, only in these two locations was a significant circaseptan (about 7-day) rhythm observed. It appears that weekly rhythms in these groups partially contribute to correlations, in addition to long-term movements. A hypothesis with supporting evidence is proposed to explain this, that participants in these groups were socially closer than in the other groups. It would then appear that heart rhythms synchronize over the long term due to social connectedness, even when they are not physically near each other or performing tasks together.

References

Tomasello M, Carpenter M, Call J, Behne T, Moll H . Understanding and sharing intentions: the origins of cultural cognition. Behav Brain Sci. 2005; 28(5):675-91. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X05000129. View

Bugental D . Acquisition of the algorithms of social life: a domain-based approach. Psychol Bull. 2000; 126(2):187-219. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.187. View

McCraty R, Childre D . Coherence: bridging personal, social, and global health. Altern Ther Health Med. 2010; 16(4):10-24. View

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith T, Layton J . Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med. 2010; 7(7):e1000316. PMC: 2910600. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316. View

Uchino B, Cacioppo J, Kiecolt-Glaser J . The relationship between social support and physiological processes: a review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychol Bull. 1996; 119(3):488-531. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488. View

McCraty R . New Frontiers in Heart Rate Variability and Social Coherence Research: Techniques, Technologies, and Implications for Improving Group Dynamics and Outcomes. Front Public Health. 2017; 5:267. PMC: 5643505. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00267. View

Lumsden J, Miles L, Neil Macrae C . Sync or sink? Interpersonal synchrony impacts self-esteem. Front Psychol. 2014; 5:1064. PMC: 4168669. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01064. View

Valdesolo P, DeSteno D . Synchrony and the social tuning of compassion. Emotion. 2011; 11(2):262-6. DOI: 10.1037/a0021302. View

Vacharkulksemsuk T, Fredrickson B . Strangers in sync: Achieving embodied rapport through shared movements. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2012; 48(1):399-402. PMC: 3290409. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.07.015. View

10.

Fischer R, Callander R, Reddish P, Bulbulia J . How do rituals affect cooperation? An experimental field study comparing nine ritual types. Hum Nat. 2013; 24(2):115-25. DOI: 10.1007/s12110-013-9167-y. View

11.

Wiltermuth S, Heath C . Synchrony and cooperation. Psychol Sci. 2009; 20(1):1-5. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02253.x. View

12.

Tylen K, Allen M, Hunter B, Roepstorff A . Interaction vs. observation: distinctive modes of social cognition in human brain and behavior? A combined fMRI and eye-tracking study. Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6:331. PMC: 3525956. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00331. View

13.

Bourguignon M, De Tiege X, Op de Beeck M, Ligot N, Paquier P, Van Bogaert P . The pace of prosodic phrasing couples the listener's cortex to the reader's voice. Hum Brain Mapp. 2012; 34(2):314-26. PMC: 6869855. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21442. View

14.

Babiloni C, Buffo P, Vecchio F, Marzano N, Percio C, Spada D . Brains "in concert": frontal oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians. Neuroimage. 2011; 60(1):105-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.008. View

15.

Tognoli E, Lagarde J, DeGuzman G, Kelso J . The phi complex as a neuromarker of human social coordination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(19):8190-5. PMC: 1859993. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0611453104. View

16.

Porges S . The polyvagal perspective. Biol Psychol. 2006; 74(2):116-43. PMC: 1868418. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.009. View

17.

Thayer J, Hansen A, Saus-Rose E, Johnsen B . Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: the neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Ann Behav Med. 2009; 37(2):141-53. DOI: 10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z. View

18.

Feldman R, Magori-Cohen R, Galili G, Singer M, Louzoun Y . Mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms through episodes of interaction synchrony. Infant Behav Dev. 2011; 34(4):569-77. DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.06.008. View

19.

Kemper K, Shaltout H . Non-verbal communication of compassion: measuring psychophysiologic effects. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011; 11:132. PMC: 3260157. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-11-132. View

20.

Yoon H, Choi S, Kim S, Kwon H, Oh S, Choi J . Human Heart Rhythms Synchronize While Co-sleeping. Front Physiol. 2019; 10:190. PMC: 6421336. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00190. View