NEUROBIOLOGY OF A BOXER

JD Ye

General Nervous System

Nervous System

PeripheralCentral

Somatic Autonomic Brain and Spinal Cord

Near and Far vision (Accomodation)■ When the opponent is near, he/she appears large in

the field of vision, and the eye receives light from wide angles. When moving focus from a distant to a near object, the eyes converge. The ciliary muscle contracts making the lens more convex, shortening its focal length. The converse occurs for far vision (when opponent runs to side of the ring)

■ The retina captures the light rays, which are sent through the optic nerve, which is part of the central nervous system, through the optic chiasm, thalamus, and into the visual cortices of the occipital lobes at the back of the brain. Perception then occurs.

Vestibuloocular Reflex helps to keep boxer’s gaze focused

Primary Motor Cortex

■ Every action (boxing) activates the primary motor cortex, which sends signals to the muscles through the spinal chord and motor neurons in order for them to contract/relax.

■ Sometimes, actions can also occur as a result of a reflex, where signals are transmitted from sensory neurons directly to motor neurons through synapses without ever reaching the brain. For example, when boxer opponent punches your knee, you immediately move your knee away. Same goes for getting punched, you immediately evade without conscious thought.

Efference Copy and sensory reafference

Dopamine inhibitor to restrict certain movement

to give agility of boxer

Conscious VS reflex

Conscious thoughts take place in the frontal areas of brain –(cerebrum, cerebellum) – which are in charge of complex or executive functions such as strategic thinking and decision making.

■ Reflex actions, such as blinking, breathing, swallowing, etc., are regulated by the autonomic nervous system and controlled by the medulla oblongata.

Operational Learning/Fast LearningMany of the boxing actions that we are able to perform unconsciously are far more complex than that. In fact, they even start out as conscious actions when we first learn how to do them, but through practice and repetition we are able to get better at them until they come out naturally.

These actions are planned and processed by the parietal lobe and cerebellum without the need to involve the frontal lobes.

Also, many of the boxing movements are chunked together through operational learning, they become habits through continuous practice.

Problems/injuries with Boxing

■ Subdural Hematoma, a rupturing of the veins between the brain and the skull, and Cerebral Edema, a buildup of water in the brain, leading to a buildup of intracranial pressure, which can lead to more severe vessel rupturing and affecting the blood flow to the brain.

■ Brief loss of short-term memory (due to blunt force trauma) (hippocampus)

Ways in which this course has allowed me to better analyze the events and phenomena around me

■ As a biology student, I have understood more about the complex workings of our wonderful brain. Professor Peggy’s class has delved in depth about the small things that come together to make our brain tick, and has inspired me into proposing new theories and experimenting to solve the next few mysteries of our nervous system, and finally one day being able to understand the way our mind perceives emotions such as love and HOW our brain actually provides them its meaning.

■ The course has provided new perspectives into the inner functionings of the brain, and also new insights into things which we never used to observe closely for ourselves, but which are happening behind closed windows in our skull.