Team flow appears to be a distinct brain state, according to new research

New research provides evidence that the experience of team flow is associated with a unique pattern of brainwaves. The findings have been published in published in eNeuro.

A “flow state” describes the experience of becoming so absorbed in an activity you lose track of time and your external surroundings. Team flow is a similar phenomenon that occurs within groups that have a strong motivation, common purpose, and complementary skills.

“I’m generally interested in the subconscious perception of human beings. Team flow is a wonderful state to study the brain of team members and how it affects team dynamics,” said study author Mohammad Shehata (@Mohamma_Shehata), an associate professor at Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan.

Shehata and his colleagues used EEG to measure the brain activity of 10 pairs of participants while they played a music rhythm game called “O2JAM U” on an iPad. The researchers manipulated how the participants played the game to examine different types of flow and teamwork. Under normal conditions, the two participants played the game together unimpeded. But in some trials, a black foam board separated the teammates so they couldn’t see each other while they played, preventing team flow but allowing a solo flow state. In other trials, the researchers scrambled the music, which inhibited a flow state but still allowed teamwork.

The researchers compared the brain activity of the participants during each condition and found that team flow was associated with a unique pattern of brain activity. In particular, team flow was associated with increased beta and gamma brain waves in the middle temporal cortex, a type of brain activity linked to information processing. “The data from this report present a proof of concept that team flow is indeed a distinct brain state and suggests a neurocognitive mechanism of team flow,” the researchers said.

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Teammates also had more synchronized brain activity during the team flow state compared to the regular teamwork state. “Team flow is a unique brain state with an extra layer of teammates’ brain sync,” Shehata told PsyPost. “So, we should not only achieve teamwork; instead, we should strive for team flow.”

The findings could help to develop more effective team-building strategies. But Shehata noted that more research is need. “We provided evidence from one task, music rhythm games, as a proof of concept,” he explained. “But we should obtain more data from different tasks to support our claims.”

“I’m interested in building a game platform that enhances team flow and allows gamers to self-actualize, and heals mental health problems,” Shehata added. “Please reach out to me on LinkedIn if you can help.”

The study, “Team Flow Is a Unique Brain State Associated with Enhanced Information Integration and Interbrain Synchrony“, was authored by Mohammad Shehata, Miao Cheng, Angus Leung, Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Daw-An Wu, Chia-huei Tseng, Shigeki Nakauchi, and Shinsuke Shimojo.