Assessing Real-Life Coach-Athlete Communication in Sport: A Wearable Hyperscanning Study

This study explores the feasibility of using wearable neurotechnologies to investigate neurofunctional patterns of interpersonal attunement during naturalistic coach-athlete interactions in sports. Eleven coach-athlete dyads participated in structured and unstructured feedback conditions, with EEG data collected using wearable EEG. Analysis focused on dissimilarity of alpha band responses, revealing significant differences in inter-brain attunement between conditions. Greater attunement was observed in the prefrontal and centro-temporal areas during structured interactions, while unstructured interactions showed attunement primarily in prefrontal regions. These results highlight the potential of wearable neurotechnologies for ecological hyperscanning, offering a novel approach to enhancing our understanding of communication dynamics in sports and improving coach-athlete relationships and performance.