title: Physiological correlates of the flow experience during computer game playing.
abstract: Flow is the subjective experience of effortless attention, reduced self-awareness, and enjoyment that typically occurs during optimal task performance. Previous studies have suggested that flow may be associated with a non-reciprocal coactivation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and, on a cortical level, with a state of hypofrontality and implicit processing. Here, we test these hypotheses, using the computer game TETRIS as model task. The participants (n=77) played TETRIS under three conditions that differed in difficulty (Easy<Optimal<Difficult). Cardiac and respiratory activities, and the average oxygenation changes of the prefrontal cortex were measured continuously with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during performance. The Optimal condition was characterized by the highest levels of state flow, positive affect, and effortless attention. The associations between self-reported psychological flow and physiological measures were investigated using a series of repeated measures linear mixed model analyses. The results showed that higher flow was associated with larger respiratory depth and lower LF. The higher respiratory depth during high flow is indicative of a more relaxed state with an increased parasympathetic activity, and thus provides partial support for the main hypotheses. There was no association between frontal cortical oxygenation and flow, even at liberal thresholds; i.e. we found no support that flow is related to a state of hypofrontality.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: laszlo.harmat@ki.se.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harmat
authors.affiliation: Dept of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Örjan
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: de Manzano
authors.affiliation: Dept of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Töres
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Theorell
authors.affiliation: Dept of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Högman
authors.affiliation: Dept of Psychology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Dept of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ullén
mesh_terms: D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012119:Respiration; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D018910:Video Games; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autonomous nervous system; Effortless attention; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy; Heart rate variability; Hypofrontality; Psychological flow