Thinking about getting stronger? Then you’re already on the way. Take two groups of people and immobilise one of their limbs with a cast. Have one group think about performing movement with the immobilised limb and the other do nothing. At 11 weeks remove the casts from both groups and what do you find? Those […]
Cool stuff
Are your results inconsistent? Good.
In human performance, variability is usually something we’re trying to overcome. Researchers at Harvard however, think that variability is the key to improved performance and how our nervous systems learn. In a paper published in the journal of Nature and Neuroscience, Professors Smith and Olveczky (pictured right) demonstrated that subjects who initially showed more variability […]
Love, lefties, golf and the cortical force field.
Interesting blog post from David Butler and the Noigroup on the neuroscience of pain and how it can manifest itself in fascinating ways. We enjoy the clinical anecdotes that pour into NOI, especially when they are repeated and can be related to modern thoughts about brain science. The wife of a dear friend, (let’s call […]
Why your fingers wrinkle in water.
There is a popular belief that our fingers wrinkle in water because they absorb water and swell. The effect is actually controlled by the autonomic nervous system which contracts blood vessels in the area making the fingers shrink. In a 2011 paper Mark Changizi proposed that wrinkling the finger tips made gripping wet objects easier […]
How do nerves work?
How do nerves work? If you’ve ever asked the question ‘how do nerves work?’ This video will help explain.