Cardiac and respiratory patterns synchronize between persons during choir singing

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Psychology
• Musicology

Background:

• Collective activities requiring temporal coordination often involve synchronized physiological patterns within and between individuals.
• The extent and functional significance of interpersonal cardiac and respiratory synchronization remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate interpersonal oscillatory couplings in respiration and heart rate variability among singers during choir practice.
• To explore how singing in unison versus multiple voice parts affects physiological synchronization.
• To examine the conductor's influence on singers' physiological patterns and analyze choir dynamics using network theory.

Main Methods:

• Studied eleven singers and one conductor during choir singing and rest conditions.
• Analyzed phase synchronization in respiration and heart rate variability.
• Applied directed coupling measures and graph theory-based network analyses.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in respiratory and heart rate variability phase synchronization were observed during singing compared to rest.
• Phase synchronization was higher during unison singing than during multi-part singing.
• Directed coupling suggested causal influence from the conductor at high frequencies.
• Network analyses revealed distinct patterns corresponding to different choir voices.

Conclusions:

• Interpersonal oscillatory coupling in cardiac and respiratory patterns is a significant feature of choir singing.
• This physiological synchronization provides a potential mechanism for coordinating collective action in humans.
• The findings highlight the interplay between social interaction, musical performance, and autonomic nervous system regulation.