Messi dribbles down the baseline cuts it back to the left, Messi going! Messi shoots from 100ft .... Goooooaaaaallllll!! Messi! What a shot! He bent it beautifully! (scream with English accent)
For those of us that are watching this shot, we sit back and wonder, how does he do that? Why can't I do that?
The answer to the question is the cerebellum. It is a portion of our brain that controls balance, movements, coordination, and a lot of other things that are associated with motor movements and sports.
In Drivers Ed with Max Maxwell, on the last day of the week, we did a lot of fun things one of which is a test where you have to walk in a straight line with these drunk goggles on. The point of it is to simulate a test that the police would give you if they suspect you as a drunk driver. It is not easy. That is how it feels to walk if you have no cerebellum because you do not really have any balance.
Another example, of the cerebellum is NFL quarterbacks. Every thing they do is like second nature because they practice so much, and part of the reason why is because of muscle memory (which is linked to the cerebellum). Their throwing motion, footwork, timing, etc. all have to be perfected if they want to play at a high level, and all of that stuff is associated with the cerebellum.
As we said today in class, some cerebellums are better than others. There is nothing we can do to change that. Lionel Messi's cerebellum is at a very high level (whatever that means), and Benjamin Kampf's is not. Some people are born with certain traits that others are not born with.
A couple of questions I have:
1. Is the cerebellum genetic? Meaning if my father has a good cerebellum, than do I have a better chance of having a good cerebellum?
2. What does it mean that someone's cerebellum is better than someone else's?
3. Can one develop the cerebellum?
I loved reading about the cerebllum in the book, and can not wait to learn more about it in class. It truly is fascinating.
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