{"id":11468,"date":"2024-03-27T20:28:59","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T20:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/27\/ice-skating-and-the-brain\/"},"modified":"2024-03-27T20:28:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T20:28:59","slug":"ice-skating-and-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/27\/ice-skating-and-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice Skating and the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/22\/science\/00Science-Burst-IceSkating-image-04\/00Science-Burst-IceSkating-image-04-facebookJumbo-v4.jpg?fit=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Ice Skating and the Brain\" title=\"Ice Skating and the Brain\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-1ot54yz e1wiw3jv0\">How do champion skaters accomplish their extraordinary jumps and spins? Brain science is uncovering clues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-zera2v\">\n<div class=\"css-103l8m3\">\n<div class=\"css-15ch0vu epjyd6m1\">\n<div class=\"css-233int epjyd6m0\">\n<p class=\"css-4anu6l e1jsehar1\"><span class=\"byline-prefix\">By <\/span><span class=\"css-1baulvz last-byline\" itemprop=\"name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/pam-belluck\" class=\"css-n8ff4n e1jsehar0\">Pam Belluck<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"enhanced-byline\" class=\"css-8atqhb\">\n<p class=\"css-194wkox e1wtpvyy0\">Pam Belluck is a neuroscience reporter and figure skating fan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time class=\"ep4cyha0 css-c2p5gi e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2024-03-27T15:38:38-04:00\">March 27, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The recent World Figure Skating Championships produced exciting results, including <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HE1a9v1DX9I\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a 19-year-old American landing a quadruple axel<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yXCqbFXnUEw\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a 40-year-old pairs skater<\/a> who became the oldest woman to win a world figure skating championship. As a neuroscience reporter, I\u2019ve wondered how the brain works when skaters jump, spin and move on the ice at whirlwind speeds. Here\u2019s what scientists have found:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When most of us step onto an ice rink, the slipping sensation kick-starts a chain of brain signals telling the body to tilt forward to avoid falling. But repeated practice mutes that reflex for skaters like Ilia Malinin, the American who was the first person to land a quadruple axel in competition and whose 2024 World Championship free skate score was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HE1a9v1DX9I\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the highest ever<\/a>. In such top skaters, the brain accepts the slipping feeling and rewires connections in the cerebellum, an area linked to balance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Brain scans of speed skaters have provided more hints about the cerebellum. Studies have found that parts of the cerebellum are larger in short-track speed skaters than in non-skaters, especially the right side. That\u2019s probably because the right side is activated when a speed skater balances on the right foot to turn left around curves in the track.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another brain network helps skaters perform intricate routines. The basal ganglia receives signals from the motor cortex as skaters leap and twirl in the air. When skaters practice programs repeatedly, this network organizes movements into chunks and sequences, fostering quicker recall and muscle memory. In competitions, this helps skaters continue their performances even after stumbles or falls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That brain network\u2019s activity likely helps <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F9Q4CHk1JUs\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Nathan Chen<\/a>, the 2022 Olympic champion in men\u2019s figure skating, when he performs a quadruple lutz, one of the most difficult jumps. He starts skating backward, extending his right leg. Pushing off on his right foot, he crosses his feet while soaring upward and then rotates four times in the air. Landing on the right leg, he sweeps his left leg up behind for the finish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The brains of figure skaters suppress the feeling of dizziness after lightning-fast spins. Spinning causes fluid in the inner ear to slosh around. In most people, it keeps sloshing for a while after the spinning stops, which causes dizziness because the brain falsely assumes rotation is continuing. Skaters\u2019 brains learn to tell when the spin has actually stopped, allowing them to maintain their balance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The brain\u2019s way of adapting to rotational motion helps facilitate the extraordinary spins of skaters like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@justhatipp\/video\/7165891944533609771\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Michelle Kwan<\/a>, a five-time world champion known for being able to spin in both directions without pausing. In one performance, she did a left layback spin followed by a right camel spin with her leg extended, and then whirled to the left again with a sit spin that blossomed into an upright Y spin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Photographs by Ng Han Guan\/Associated Press, Mark R Cristino\/EPA-EFE, via Shutterstock and Tingshu Wang Tpx\/Reuters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do champion skaters accomplish their extraordinary jumps and spins? Brain science is uncovering clues. By Pam Belluck Pam Belluck is a neuroscience reporter and figure skating fan. March 27, 2024 The recent World Figure Skating Championships produced exciting results, including a 19-year-old American landing a quadruple axel and a 40-year-old pairs skater who became [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/22\/science\/00Science-Burst-IceSkating-image-04\/00Science-Burst-IceSkating-image-04-facebookJumbo-v4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1920,7062,16706],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11470,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11468\/revisions\/11470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}