Two is better than one: Physical interactions improve motor performance in humans

TLDR

The study investigates how physical interactions with others alter individual motor behavior. The authors used a novel paradigm connecting two participants’ hands without conscious awareness to examine how partner interaction forces adapt motor behavior. Motor adaptations during physical interactions were mutually beneficial, depended on partner performance and behavioral similarity, could not be attributed to individual multisensory integration, and reveal fundamental neural processes that suggest interactive paradigms benefit sport training and rehabilitation.

Abstract

How do physical interactions with others change our own motor behavior? Utilizing a novel motor learning paradigm in which the hands of two - individuals are physically connected without their conscious awareness, we investigated how the interaction forces from a partner adapt the motor behavior in physically interacting humans. We observed the motor adaptations during physical interactions to be mutually beneficial such that both the worse and better of the interacting partners improve motor performance during and after interactive practice. We show that these benefits cannot be explained by multi-sensory integration by an individual, but require physical interaction with a reactive partner. Furthermore, the benefits are determined by both the interacting partner's performance and similarity of the partner's behavior to one's own. Our results demonstrate the fundamental neural processes underlying human physical interactions and suggest advantages of interactive paradigms for sport-training and physical rehabilitation.