Interpersonal heart rate synchrony and prosocial behaviors in musical contexts

Figures

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  Figure 1. Conceptual diagram of the interpersonal and intrapersonal synchronization process. The image illustrates how environmental stimuli influence and synchronize physiological processes across individuals. Initially, external elements such as social interaction, movement (e.g., dance), and music act as environmental stimulus. These stimuli are perceived by the sensory system, particularly through vision and audition. Subsequently, this information is processed by the organism through internal mechanisms, including the bidirectional interaction between the brain and the heart. This reciprocal evaluation enables both physiological adjustments and the shaping of perceptual responses to stimuli. Such processing influences synchronization and elucidates shared experience through the alignment of biological responses among individuals, thereby promoting connection and coordination.

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  Figure 2. Simplified schematic of the auditory processing pathways and the Central Autonomic Network (CAN) and their interactions. The CAN governs communication between the brain and the heart. It integrates sensory, emotional, and cognitive information to bidirectionally modulate the autonomic nervous system and maintain internal homeostasis, enabling adaptive responses to environmental stimuli. The figure illustrates the main structures of the auditory processing pathway (green) and the CAN pathways, afferent (purple) and efferent (yellow) cardiac, as well as the structures where the two pathways intersect (red).