Biology subjects

Takamizawa, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Takamizawa, R..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Joint Pupillometry and Heart Rate Monitoring Identify Zone-Like High Performance in Esports

Modern digital activities, such as esports, combine intense cognitive demands with limited whole-body movement, weakening calibration between subjective awareness and functional states. Cognitive deterioration during prolonged esports precedes subjective fatigue, suggesting subjective flow likewise fails to reveal efficient cognitive-sensorimotor performance states. Although efficient cognitive-sensorimotor performance may involve central-autonomic coordination reflected in intrapersonal pupil-heart synchrony, the functional role of this coordination remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that, during esports play, central-autonomic coordination contributes to an efficient cognitive-sensorimotor performance state that subjective flow fails to capture. Fourteen young men completed sessions involving watching a fighting game, playing against a computer-controlled opponent, and competing against another person. We assessed pupil diameter, heart rate, subjective flow, subjective workload, and objective in-game performance. Esports competition increased subjective flow without improving objective in-game performance and reduced combat efficiency, demonstrating a subjectively optimal experience need not signal high in-game performance efficiency. Data-driven clustering identified a low-reactivity state combining superior objective in-game performance with lower subjective workload. This state showed selectively sustained pupil-heart synchrony. Reduced workload partly accounted for the association between pupil-heart synchrony and objective in-game performance. Our findings suggest that individuals fail to recognize periods of high in-game performance efficiency, as cognitive deterioration escapes awareness during prolonged esports. This efficiency is associated with pupil-heart synchrony, supporting the hypothesis that central-autonomic coordination contributes to an efficient cognitive-sensorimotor performance state. Pupil-heart synchrony may therefore serve as a mechanism-based biomarker for detecting efficient states beyond awareness, optimizing objective task performance and the timing of recovery in demanding digital environments.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Sparkling Water Co-Consumption Enhances Oxytocin-Linked HR Synchrony and Social Connection in Live Sports Spectatorship

Live sport spectatorship can promote social connection, yet scalable, low-burden strategies to strengthen bonding in real-world spectator settings remain limited. We here tested the hypothesis that co-consuming sparkling water during spectating attenuates hunger and fatigue and strengthens enjoyment and perceived unity, potentially via HR synchrony linked to oxytocin dynamics. In an individually randomized field experiment at a collegiate womens basketball home game (sparkling water: n = 21; plain water: n = 19), spectators consumed 200 mL of sparkling water or plain water in synchrony before tip-off and before the end of halftime, with additional ad libitum intake of the assigned beverage permitted thereafter. We assessed acute freshness and hunger, repeated fatigue and enjoyment, interpersonal HR synchrony from the first half to 15-min post-game, perceived unity toward players and fellow spectators, and salivary oxytocin levels. Relative to plain water, sparkling water increased freshness and reduced hunger after intake, attenuated post-game fatigue, and enhanced enjoyment and perceived unity. HR synchrony was preserved in association with attenuated post-game fatigue after the game, and sustained synchrony was associated with higher perceived unity. Oxytocin decreased more in the sparkling-water group, and this decrease was associated with preserved HR synchrony as well as with changes in unity toward fellow fans. These findings support our hypothesis and suggest that co-consuming sparkling water serves as an alcohol-free, low-burden ritual to enhance social connection during and after live sport events. Highlights- Sparkling water increased freshness and reduced hunger after intake in spectators. - Sparkling water attenuated the post-game increase in subjective fatigue. - Sparkling water increased enjoyment and perceived unity. - Post-game HR synchrony was preserved in association with lower fatigue and higher unity. - Oxytocin decreased more with sparkling water and tracked HR synchrony and fan unity. - Co-consuming sparkling water is a low-burden, alcohol-free ritual for social connection.

neuroscience↗