Neural and motor coupling in interpersonal synchronization: mechanisms for motor learning and development in 5- to 6-year-old children

Interpersonal synchrony-moving and thinking in time with someone else-may be a key engine of children's learning. We studied 5-6-year-olds and their caregivers as they played an imitation-based "Mirror Game" and a goal-directed "Labyrinth Game," recording full-body motion and dual-EEG. To ensure effects reflected real interaction, we compared each dyad to many randomly recombined "pseudo pairs." Dyads aligned both their movements and their brain activity, with the most consistent neural coupling in the gamma range-a rhythm linked to attention and real-time coordination. Alignment shifted with task demands and was associated with more efficient performance, yet it did not track children's general motor ability (MABC-2), suggesting that synchrony is an emergent property of interaction rather than a simple proxy for motor maturity. By jointly measuring behavior and brain in naturalistic tasks, this work points to synchrony as a measurable mechanism-and potential target-for boosting engagement and motor learning in early childhood.