Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Flow Experience: An EEG Microstate Analysis

Abstract

Flow, as defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1975), is a holistic experience in which individuals are fully immersed in an activity, resulting in a diminished sense of self and an altered perception of time. To investigate the global neural dynamics underlying flow, we employed EEG microstate analysis, which capture the spatial and temporal properties of dominant transient global brain states (Lehmann et al. 1998). In a study involving 43 participants playing the video game Thumper for 25 min, we extracted three four-minute EEG segments from each session corresponding to reported experiences of flow, boredom, and frustration, as determined by self-reports and performance metrics. Across conditions, six distinct microstate topographies (A–F) accounted for most of the global variance. Given that reduced self-referential processing is a key feature of flow, we hypothesized that flow would modulate the properties of microstates C and E, which have been associated with brain regions resembling the default mode network (DMN). Compared to boredom and frustration, the flow condition showed significantly decreased global explained variance, mean duration, time coverage, and occurrence frequency of microstate E, as well as reduced mean duration and time coverage of microstate C. These findings suggest that microstates associated with self-referential processing are shorter and less frequent during flow than during boredom and frustration. This supports the notion that the flow experience modulates global brain dynamics, particularly within the DMN. Furthermore, our results align with previous research reporting reduced DMN activity during meditative and psychedelic states, reinforcing the idea of diminished self-awareness in such conditions.