Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41803765›Full record

Trial reportBMC psychiatry2026

Can dyadic rope-skipping enhance cooperative behavior in female university students with depressive symptoms? Evidence from behavioral and fNIRS hyperscanning data.

Shiyu Wang, Wenhuan Wang, Meng Yao, Jie Cui, Boyi Zong, Jingxuan Liu, Dongxi Guo, Lin Li

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Shiyu WangKey Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Wenhuan WangThe Fifth School Affiliated to East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Meng YaoJiading Hongde Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
Jie CuiPhysical Education College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Boyi ZongSchool of Sport Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Jingxuan LiuKey Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Dongxi GuoKey Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Lin LiKey Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. lilin.xtt@163.com.

Funding

the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 2025ECNU-WLJC001the National Social Science Fund of China 21BTY094the Shanghai Sports Science and Technology Project 26Q010
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImpaired cooperative behavior represents a prominent social dysfunction in individuals with depressive symptoms. Synchronous exercise has been proposed to facilitate social interaction. However, empirical evidence regarding its effects on cooperation and associated neural responses in individuals with depressive symptoms remains limited. This study examined whether a single session of dyadic rope-skipping enhances cooperative behavior and prefrontal interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) in female college students with depressive symptoms.

methodsIn a randomized controlled trial, 110 female college students with depressive symptoms were assigned to an experimental group (28 dyads) or a control group (27 dyads). The experimental group completed a 30-minute dyadic rope-skipping session, whereas the control group remained seated for an equivalent duration. Cooperative behavior was assessed before and after the intervention using a Prisoner’s Dilemma task. Prefrontal INS was concurrently recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning.

resultsCompared with pre-intervention, the experimental group showed significant increases in both individual cooperation rate (p = 0.041) and mutual cooperation rate (p = 0.028), along with significant decreases in individual defection rate (p = 0.039) and mutual defection rate (p = 0.040). Following the intervention, compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated higher individual (p < 0.001) and mutual (p = 0.013) cooperation rates, lower individual (p < 0.001) and mutual (p = 0.002) defection rates. fNIRS hyperscanning result showed significantly enhanced INS within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and frontopolar cortex following dyadic exercise. Although behavioral improvements were not linearly associated with neural changes (all p > 0.0033), robust synchronization increases were observed across prefrontal channels, specifically, INS changes in CH17-7 were strongly correlated with CH13-7 (r = 0.497, p < 0.001) and CH17-17 (r = 0.601, p < 0.001).

conclusionsA single session of dyadic rope-skipping significantly improved cooperative behavior and enhanced prefrontal INS in female college students with depressive symptoms. These findings provide convergent behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that synchronous exercise can promote social functioning in individuals with depressive symptoms. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

Cooperative BehaviorDepressionInterpersonal RelationsPrefrontal CortexSocial InteractionAdultFemaleHumansSpectroscopy, Near-InfraredStudentsUniversitiesYoung AdultCooperationDepressive symptomsDyadic rope-skippingfNIRS hyperscanningInterpersonal neural synchrony (INS)

Identifiers

PMID41803765
PMCPMC13085406

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.