Date: September 3, 2008
Source: University of Chicago
Summary: Being an athlete or merely a fan improves language
skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain
usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport
language, new research shows.
Being an athlete or merely a fan improves
language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the
brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport
language, new research at the University of Chicago shows.
The research was
conducted on hockey players, fans, and people who'd never seen or played the
game. It shows, for the first time, that a region of the brain usually
associated with planning and controlling actions is activated when players and
fans listen to conversations about their sport. The brain boost helps athletes
and fans understanding of information about their sport, even though at the
time when people are listening to this sport language they have no intention to
act.
The study shows that
the brain may be more flexible in adulthood than previously thought. "We
show that non-language related activities, such as playing or watching a sport,
enhance one's ability to understand language about their sport precisely because
brain areas normally used to act become highly involved in language
understanding," said Sian Beilock, Associate Professor in Psychology at
the University of Chicago.
"Experience
playing and watching sports has enduring effects on language understanding by changing
the neural networks that support comprehension to incorporate areas active in
performing sports skills," she said.
The research could
have greater implications for learning. It shows that engaging in an activity
taps into brain networks not normally associated with language, which improves
the understanding of language related to that activity, Beilock added.
For the study,
researchers asked 12 professional and intercollegiate hockey players, eight
fans and nine individuals who had never watched a game to listen to sentences
about hockey players, such as shooting, making saves and being engaged in the
game. They also listened to sentences about everyday activities, such as
ringing doorbells and pushing brooms across the floor. While the subjects listened
to the sentences, their brains were scanned using functioning Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (fMRI), which allows one to infer the areas of the brain most
active during language listening.
After hearing the
sentences in the fMRI scanner, subjects performed a battery of tests designed
to gauge their comprehension of those sentences.
Although most subjects
understood the language about everyday activities, hockey players and fans were
substantially better than novices at understanding hockey-related language.
Brain imaging revealed
that when hockey players and fans listen to language about hockey, they show
activity in the brain regions usually used to plan and select well-learned
physical actions. The increased activity in motor areas of the brain helps hockey
players and fans to better understanding hockey language. The results show that
playing sports, or even just watching, builds a stronger understanding of
language, Beilock said.
Joining Beilock in
this research were Howard Nusbaum, Professor of Psychology at the University;
Steven Small, Professor of Neurology and Psychology at the University; and
Beilock's Ph.D. students Ian Lyons and Andrew Mattarella-Micke.
Article retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901205631.htm
Image retrieved from: http://hockeys.ru/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/super-gol-ovechkina.jpg
