Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt and Louis Zamperini have one thing in common: a unique nervous system. What makes an olympic athlete’s brain anatomy different from a regular athlete? What changes take place in their brain and its connecting peripheral nerves? And can anyone become an olympic athlete? The human body is capable of making changes to itself to adapt to different environments and specific tasks. Not only do the muscles in our body change but also our brain and certain structures in it evolve to cater to external demands that are placed on our body.
Exercise is known to have positive impacts on the body, including increasing metabolism, lowering the risk of diseases, and boosting one’s mood. New studies are showing that exercise also has positive impacts on the nervous system. Research has shown that exercise aids in maintaining blood flow to the brain providing it with a rich supply of oxygen and glucose causing angiogenesis to occur, the formation of new blood vessels. These new blood vessels then influence neurogenesis which is the process by which neurons are made. As we grow older, …show more content…
An elongated involvement in sports affects how the CNS makes muscle assignment and patterning. In Finland, researchers have analyzed the difference in leg muscle coordination when a muscle shortens for different athletes. The experiment judged swimmers, football players, and track and field jumpers’ ability to do a vertical jump. They came to the conclusion that a swimmer’s flexion of their muscle is weak compared to that of a track and field jumper which is influenced by the different neural patterns. The football players’ muscles were the median because their muscles could not fire rapidly to exert as much jumping power as the track and field jumpers. This proved that the type of sport one does influences how the CNS programs muscle
Exercise is known to have positive impacts on the body, including increasing metabolism, lowering the risk of diseases, and boosting one’s mood. New studies are showing that exercise also has positive impacts on the nervous system. Research has shown that exercise aids in maintaining blood flow to the brain providing it with a rich supply of oxygen and glucose causing angiogenesis to occur, the formation of new blood vessels. These new blood vessels then influence neurogenesis which is the process by which neurons are made. As we grow older, …show more content…
An elongated involvement in sports affects how the CNS makes muscle assignment and patterning. In Finland, researchers have analyzed the difference in leg muscle coordination when a muscle shortens for different athletes. The experiment judged swimmers, football players, and track and field jumpers’ ability to do a vertical jump. They came to the conclusion that a swimmer’s flexion of their muscle is weak compared to that of a track and field jumper which is influenced by the different neural patterns. The football players’ muscles were the median because their muscles could not fire rapidly to exert as much jumping power as the track and field jumpers. This proved that the type of sport one does influences how the CNS programs muscle