An efficient cognitive–sensorimotor performance state with pupil–heart synchrony independent of subjective flow during esports play

Abstract Modern digital activities, such as esports, combine intense cognitive demands with limited whole-body movement, weakening calibration between subjective awareness and functional states. Cognitive deterioration during prolonged esports precedes subjective fatigue, suggesting subjective flow likewise fails to reveal efficient cognitive–sensorimotor performance states. Although efficient cognitive–sensorimotor performance may involve central–autonomic coordination reflected in intrapersonal pupil–heart synchrony, the functional role of this coordination remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that, during esports play, central– autonomic coordination contributes to an efficient cognitive–sensorimotor performance state that subjective flow fails to capture. Fourteen young men completed sessions involving watching a fighting game, playing against a computer-controlled opponent, and competing against another person. We assessed pupil diameter, heart rate, subjective flow, subjective workload, and objective in-game performance. Esports competition increased subjective flow without improving objective in-game performance and reduced combat efficiency, demonstrating a subjectively optimal experience need not signal high in-game performance efficiency. Data-driven clustering identified a low-reactivity state combining superior objective in-game performance with lower subjective workload. This state showed selectively sustained pupil–heart synchrony. Reduced workload partly accounted for the association between pupil– heart synchrony and objective in-game performance. Our findings suggest that individuals fail to recognize periods of high in-game performance efficiency, as cognitive deterioration escapes awareness during prolonged esports. This efficiency is associated with pupil–heart synchrony, supporting the hypothesis that central–autonomic coordination contributes to an efficient cognitive–sensorimotor performance state. Pupil–heart synchrony may therefore serve as a mechanism-based biomarker for detecting efficient states beyond awareness, optimizing objective task performance and the timing of recovery in demanding digital environments