Towards an expanded neuroscientific understanding of social play

Neural signatures of imaginary motivational states: desire for music, movement and social play

The literature has demonstrated the potential for detecting accurate electrical signals that correspond to the will or intention to move, as well as decoding the thoughts of individuals who imagine houses, faces or objects. This investigation examines the presence of precise neural markers of imagined motivational states through the combining of electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods. 20 participants were instructed to vividly imagine the desire to move, listen to music or engage in social activities. Their EEG was recorded from 128 scalp sites and analysed using individual standardized Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomographies (LORETAs) in the N400 time window (400-600 ms). The activation of 1056 voxels was examined in relation to the 3 motivational states. The most active dipoles were grouped in eight regions of interest (ROI), including Occipital, Temporal, Fusiform, Premotor, Frontal, OBF/IF, Parietal, and Limbic areas. The statistical analysis revealed that all motivational imaginary states engaged the right hemisphere more than the left hemisphere. Distinct markers were identified for the three motivational states. Specifically, the right temporal area was more relevant for "Social Play", the orbitofrontal/inferior frontal cortex for listening to music, and the left premotor cortex for the "Movement" desire. This outcome is encouraging in terms of the potential use of neural indicators in the realm of brain-computer interface, for interpreting the thoughts and desires of individuals with locked-in syndrome.

Partnered dance evokes greater intrinsic motivation than home exercise as therapeutic activity for chemotherapy-induced deficits: secondary results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial

Introduction

Dance has been proposed to support superior intrinsic motivation over non-dance forms of therapeutic physical activity. However, this hypothesis has yet to be evaluated empirically, particularly among populations living with neuropathology such as survivors of cancer with neurologic complications from chemotherapy treatment. Questions about motivation are relevant to clinical outcomes because motivation mediates neuroplasticity. We conducted this secondary analysis of a randomized-controlled study to begin to investigate the relationships between personal motivation and neurophysiologic effects of dance-based intervention for healthy aging among populations with neurologic complications of cancer.

Methods

We measured motivation using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, a validated patient-reported outcome from the psychological approach of Self Determination Theory. We assessed intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and satisfaction with intervention within a randomized controlled trial of dance versus exercise designed to alleviate symptoms of chemotherapy-induced impairment. Fifty-two survivors of breast cancer with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy diagnosis and associated sensorimotor functional deficits were randomized (1:1) to 8 weeks of partnered dance or home exercise, performed biweekly (NCT05114005; R21-AG068831).

Results

While satisfaction did not differ between interventions, intrinsic motivation was higher among participants randomized to dance than those randomized to exercise (p < 0.0001 at all timepoints: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks of intervention), as was extrinsic motivation at 2 weeks (p = 0.04) and 8 weeks (p = 0.01).

Discussion

These data provide evidence that social dance is more motivating than the type of home exercise generally recommended as therapeutic physical activity. The results inform directions for future study of the effect of dance-based therapeutics on embodied agency, neuroplastic changes, and clinically-relevant neuropathic improvement.