What’s happening inside the brain of a passionate hockey fan during a big game? A new study from the University of Waterloo gives a closer look at how the brain functions when watching sports, with data showing how different a die-hard fan’s experience is from that of a casual viewer.

The study, “Understanding the sport viewership experience using functional near-infrared spectroscopy,” is published in Scientific Reports.

The researchers found that during offensive faceoff opportunities, fans deeply invested in hockey showed more activity in a part of the brain called the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. This area is connected to emotional involvement and evaluative thinking—the mental processing we use to judge and interpret what’s happening around us.