Those who work together tend to move in sync

Synchronization as social glue for communities

University of Vienna

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A team of sports scientists and cognitive biologists at the University of Vienna has demonstrated in a new study that solving a task together can promote spontaneous movement synchronization. Such synchronization serves as a kind of "social glue" and plays an important role in the social functioning of communities. To better understand this mechanism, the researchers examined how working on a jigsaw puzzle together influenced movement synchronization during trampoline jumping. The results showed that pairs who had worked together on a puzzle subsequently displayed greater synchronization on the trampoline than pairs who had worked on the puzzle individually. Initial mutual rapport also had a positive effect. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The fact that shared actions create a sense of connection between people is central to effective social functioning of communities. Synchronization – namely, the coordination of actions or movements between two or more individuals – is often described as a kind of "social glue." Previous research has shown that engaging in synchronous activities strengthens feelings of togetherness, similarity, and connectedness. However, researchers have long wondered whether the reverse might also be true: can shared experiences enhance our unconscious coordination - our spontaneous movement synchrony – with others? The current study aims to shed light on exactly this phenomenon, offering new insights into how collaborative actions and social bonding can influence spontaneous movement synchrony. With these findings, the scientists add another puzzle piece to the growing body of research on the antecedents of interpersonal synchrony and thus contribute to a broader understanding of everyday areas such as education and therapy, as well as fields like team building and sports performance.

About the study: 68 study participants solved jigsaw puzzles and jumped on trampolines

Puzzles and trampolines were used to address the initial research question: the researchers examined how working together on a jigsaw puzzle influenced subsequent movement synchronization when jumping on trampolines. The study involved a total of 68 participants, who were divided into same-gender pairs. These pairs were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the first group, the pairs worked together on a puzzle, whereas in the second group, the participants worked on their puzzles individually. After the puzzle phase, the pairs jumped on two separate trampolines and their movements were recorded using acceleration sensors. In addition, the participants completed questionnaires before and after the experiment to assess their mood and their rapport toward their partner.

Greater synchronization after solving jigsaw puzzles together

"Our results show that pairs who worked on a jigsaw puzzle together achieved significantly higher synchronization when jumping on the trampoline than those who worked on the puzzle individually," says first author Clara Scheer from the Division of Sport Psychology at the University of Vienna. "It was particularly noteworthy that the participants' initial level of rapport toward each other also had a strong positive effect on their subsequent movement synchrony," Scheer adds. Moreover, the researchers found that participants’ mood improved – but only among those who had worked on the puzzle together.

These findings provide new insights into how cooperative interactions not only strengthen social bonds but also enhance the ability to spontaneously synchronize movements in other tasks. They highlight the central role of shared activities in fostering interpersonal synchronization, which is considered crucial for successful collaboration and social cohesion.

"The results underscore that social connectedness and cooperation are strongly connected. Acting together not only strengthens the bond between individuals but also enhances their intuitive attunement to one another – an essential foundation for successful collaboration," Scheer summarizes.

Summary:

• Solving a task together can promote spontaneous movement synchrony. In this study, this effect was specifically demonstrated by having participants work on a jigsaw puzzle together and then jump on a trampoline.
• Synchronization – the coordination of actions or movements between two or more individuals – is considered a form of "social glue" which is essential for the effective social functioning of communities.
• Study procedure: 68 participants were paired and then randomly assigned to one of two groups. Pairs who first worked together on the puzzle later jumped more synchronously on the trampoline than those who solved the puzzle individually.
• These findings make an important contribution to real-life contexts such as education and therapy, as well as to team building and sports performance.

About the University of Vienna: 

For over 650 years the University of Vienna has stood for education, research and innovation. Today, it is ranked among the top 100 and thus the top four per cent of all universities worldwide and is globally connected. With degree programmes covering over 180 disciplines, and more than 10,000 employees we are one of the largest academic institutions in Europe. Here, people from a broad spectrum of disciplines come together to carry out research at the highest level and develop solutions for current and future challenges. Its students and graduates develop reflected and sustainable solutions to complex challenges using innovative spirit and curiosity.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0333709 

Article Title

Work together, move together – Cooperation and rapport promote interpersonal synchrony

 

The basic mechanisms of visual attention emerged over 500 million years ago, study finds

The superior colliculus, an ancestral brain structure, performs visual computations once thought to be exclusive to the cortex

Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

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image: 

An inhibitory neuron (yellow) extends across the superior colliculus, forming a complex network that may help suppress surrounding visual signals. Retinal ganglion cell terminals are shown in cyan, and other inhibitory neurons are labeled in magenta. Confocal image by Peng Cui. Source: PLOS Biology.

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Credit: Instituto de Neurociencias UMH CSIC

The brain does not need its sophisticated cortex to interpret the visual world. A new study published in PLOS Biology demonstrates that a much older structure, the superior colliculus, contains the necessary circuitry to perform the fundamental computations that allow us to distinguish objects from the background and detect which stimuli are relevant in space. This work reveals that these ancestral circuits, present in the brains of all vertebrates, can generate center–surround interactions independently: a key visual principle that enables the brain to detect contrasts, edges, and salient features in the environment.

“For decades it was thought that these computations were exclusive to the visual cortex, but we have shown that the superior colliculus, a much older structure in evolutionary terms, can also perform them autonomously,” explains Andreas Kardamakis, head of the Neural Circuits in Vision for Action laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, and principal investigator of the study. “This means that the ability to analyse what we see and decide what deserves our attention is not a recent invention of the human brain, but a mechanism that appeared more than half a billion years ago.”

A “radar” in the brain that prioritises what matters

The superior colliculus acts as a kind of biological radar, receiving direct input from the retina and, before information reaches the cerebral cortex, in order to determine which stimuli in the environment are most relevant. When something moves, shines, or suddenly appears in the visual field, this structure is the first to respond and to direct the gaze towards that point.

The study combines several cutting-edge experimental techniques, including patterned optogenetics, electrophysiology, and computational modelling, to investigate how neurons are organised and communicate within the superior colliculus. By using light to activate specific retinal projections in the colliculus and record responses in mouse brain slices, the team observed that the superior colliculus can generate a suppression of the central stimulus when the surrounding area is activated, a hallmark pattern of centre–surround interactions and a mechanism backed by cell-type-specific transynaptic mapping and large-scale modelling.

“We have seen that the superior colliculus not only transmits visual information but also processes and filters it actively, reducing the response to uniform stimuli and enhancing contrasts,” says Kuisong Song, co-first author of the paper. “This demonstrates that the ability to select or prioritise visual information is embedded in the oldest subcortical circuits of the brain.” The results suggest that the function of highlighting what captures our attention does not depend solely on higher cortical areas but is deeply rooted in mechanisms common to all vertebrates.

Evolutionary and cognitive implications

These findings challenge the classical view that complex visual operations are the exclusive domain of the cortex. Instead, they point to a more distributed and hierarchical organisation of the brain, where ancient structures not only relay information but also carry out essential computations for survival, such as detecting predators, tracking prey, or avoiding obstacles.

“Understanding how these ancestral structures contribute to visual attention also helps us understand what happens when these mechanisms fail,” Kardamakis notes. “Disorders such as attention deficit, sensory hypersensitivity, or some forms of traumatic brain injury may partly originate from imbalances between cortical communication and these fundamental circuits”.

His team is now extending these findings to in vivo models to investigate how the superior colliculus shapes visual attention and regulates distractions during goal-directed behavior. Understanding how visual distractors are transformed into behavioral responses is essential for revealing underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, particularly in an era increasingly driven by visual technology.

This study is the result of a broad international collaboration involving the Karolinska Institutet, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (both in Sweden), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA). It also includes the participation of Teresa Femenía, researcher at the IN CSIC-UMH, who made a key contribution to the experimental development of the study.

A shared evolutionary framework for visual attention

In line with this work, Andreas Kardamakis and Giovanni Usseglio have recently published a chapter in the new volume of the Evolution of Nervous Systems series, edited by JH Kass (now appearing in Elsevier, 2025), which expands the comparative and evolutionary perspective of these subcortical visual circuits. In this chapter, the authors review how structures homologous to the superior colliculus, found in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, share a common functional principle: the integration of sensory and motor information to orient attention and gaze.

The chapter highlights that this brain architecture, preserved for over 500 million years of evolution, forms the common foundation upon which the cortex later developed its higher cognitive functions. “Evolution did not replace these ancient systems; it built upon them,” says Kardamakis, and adds: “We still rely on the same basic hardware to decide where to look and what to ignore.”

This research was supported by Spain’s State Research Agency - Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence, the Generalitat Valenciana through the CIDEGENT programme, the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Brain Foundation, and the Olle Engkvist Foundation.

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Journal

PLOS Biology

DOI

10.1371/journal.pbio.3003414 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

 

Thinning turned an upland forest into a temporary carbon source and made a peatland forest an even stronger carbon source

University of Helsinki

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Forest thinning.

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Credit: Juho Aalto.

A recent study highlights how forest thinning significantly influences the ability of forests to store or release carbon.

Thinning, the practice of removing some trees to promote the growth of others, is a common forestry management technique, but its effects on forest carbon dynamics vary greatly depending on the forest type.

The study carried out at the University of Helsinki examined the effects of thinning in two contrasting boreal forest types: an upland forest on mineral soil and a drained peatland forest. Researchers measured annual carbon accumulation rates and emissions from trees, forest floor vegetation, soil, and deadwood both before and after thinning. The results reveal that thinning triggers immediate changes in the forest carbon balance.

“Our findings emphasize the importance of adapting forest management practices to the unique characteristics of different forest types. While thinning can enhance tree growth and carbon uptake in upland forests, drained peatlands require careful management to avoid long-term carbon losses,” says Gonzalo de Quesada, doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki.

Upland forest recovers quickly, while drained peatland faces long-term change

In upland forest, the rate of carbon accumulation in trees temporarily declined following thinning, but recovery was rapid. Increased light and space allowed forest floor vegetation, such as mosses and shrubs, to flourish and absorb more carbon. This shift transformed the forest from a temporary carbon source in the year of thinning back into a carbon sink by the following year.

– Carbon sink refers to the positive change in carbon storage per year. Carbon sinks often recover fairly quickly after thinning, but the recovery of total carbon stocks takes time, because a large amount of carbon has been removed from the forest along with the biomass during logging, says Associate Professor Anna Lintunen from the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research.

In contrast, the drained peatland forest, which was already releasing carbon prior to thinning, experienced increased emissions after tree removal. Slow tree growth combined with accelerated decomposition of harvest residues caused these forests to become even stronger net carbon sources one year after thinning.

Researchers also found that it may take decades for forest carbon stocks – the carbon stored in standing tree biomass and soil – to fully recover their pre-thinning levels in both forest types. In drained peatlands, the annual carbon stock increase, or carbon sink, remained negative throughout the study period, suggesting that such forests may struggle to regain their original carbon storage capacity after thinning.

"Understanding how different forest management practices affect carbon dynamics is essential, especially as Finland and other countries strive to balance timber production with maintaining forests as effective carbon sinks," summarises de Quesada.

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Journal

Forest Ecology and Management

DOI

10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123024 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Carbon dynamics after thinning in two boreal forest sites: Upland and drained peatland

Article Publication Date

1-Nov-2025

 

Study shows why living in a disadvantaged neighborhood may increase dementia risk

University of Cambridge

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Cambridge researchers have discovered why living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood may be linked to an increase in an individual’s risk of dementia.

In research published today, they show how it is associated with damage to brain vessels – which can affect cognition – and with poorer management of lifestyle factors known to increase the chances of developing dementia.

Dementia disproportionately affects people who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Individuals living in such areas show greater cognitive decline throughout their lives and higher dementia risk, regardless of their own socioeconomic status. Recent studies have also found that neighbourhood deprivation is linked to differences in brain structure and greater signs of damage to brain tissue.

To explore this link further, researchers examined data from 585 healthy adults aged 40–59 living in the UK and Ireland who had been recruited to the PREVENT-Dementia programme. Details of the study are published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

Among the data collected and examined were: neighbourhood deprivation according to postcodes; cognitive performance assessed through a series of tests; modifiable lifestyle risk factors; and MRI brain scans to look for signs of damage to the brain’s small blood vessels, which are crucial for delivering oxygen and nutrients to brain tissue.

The team found a strong link between living in a deprived neighbourhood and poorer management of lifestyle factors known to increase the chances of developing dementia. In particular, people living in areas of high unemployment, low income and/or poor education and training opportunities were more likely to experience poor sleep, obesity and high blood pressure, and do less physical activity.

However, people living in deprived neighbourhoods tended to consume less alcohol than those in less disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Alcohol consumption is another known risk factor for dementia.

The researchers also found a significant link between cognition and neighbourhood deprivation – particularly poorer housing and environment and higher levels of crime. This had the greatest impact on an individual’s ability to process information quickly, their spatial awareness and attention.

One possible explanation for this comes from the team’s finding that living in a deprived neighbourhood was associated with damage to the brain’s small blood vessels, which in turn affects thinking skills. Modifiable lifestyle habits are known to contribute to this damage, suggesting that the effect of deprivation on brain function – and hence performance in cognitive tests – may be down to lifestyle and vascular health.

First author Dr Audrey Low, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, said: “Where someone lives can affect their brain health as early as midlife. It doesn’t do this directly, but by making it more difficult for them to engage in positive lifestyle behaviours.

“This means that people living in these areas may face more challenges in getting quality sleep and exercise, and in managing blood pressure and obesity. This can then have a knock-on effect on the health of blood vessels in the brain, leading to poorer cognition.

“These lifestyle factors are no doubt influenced by both individual circumstances and the external environment in which they live. But importantly, the links we found were independent of educational attainment. So, even a person who has gone on to further or higher education and has a reasonably paid job may be better or worse at managing their lifestyle depending on where they live, perhaps due to better access to affordable healthy food options and safer recreational spaces.”

The researchers say their findings highlight the fact that dementia risk is influenced by environmental factors rather than just individual behaviours, and so reducing dementia risk will mean addressing the wider social determinants of brain health.

Senior author Professor John O’Brien, also from the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge, said: “Where you live clearly plays an important role in your brain health and risk of dementia, putting people living in deprived neighbourhoods at a serious disadvantage. This risk is preventable, but our works shows it’s not enough to assume it’s down to the individual. If we’re serious about reducing health inequalities, it will require support from local and national policymakers.”

The study highlights how different areas face their own challenges and hence will need different approaches, say the researchers. In wealthier areas, strategies could focus on reducing alcohol consumption, for example. Lower-income neighbourhoods, on the other hand, may benefit from targeted campaigns promoting healthy lifestyles for dementia prevention. This will require policymakers and community leaders to tackle systemic barriers that are impeding individuals’ abilities to adopt healthy lifestyle changes. This could include improving access to affordable healthcare and healthy food options, reducing crime, and providing safe recreational areas for exercise.

While these findings hold true for the UK and Ireland, the researchers say that more research is needed into whether they apply in other cultures. There is some previous evidence that the opposite is true in certain Asian cultures, for example.

The research was supported by the Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Wellcome Trust, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Reference

Low, A et al. Neighbourhood deprivation and midlife cognition: evidence of a modifiable vascular pathway involving health behaviours and SVD. Alz & Dem; 5 Nov 2025; DOI: 10.1002/alz.70756

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Journal

Alzheimer s & Dementia

DOI

10.1002/alz.70756 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Neighbourhood deprivation and midlife cognition: evidence of a modifiable vascular pathway involving health behaviours and SVD

Article Publication Date

5-Nov-2025