19
Do extreme sports athletes have different brains?
(lemmy.world)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
19 points (91.3% liked)
Explain Like I'm Five
14224 readers
1 users here now
Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!
Rules
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Alex Honnold is the best free solo climber in the world, man can climb el cap or half dome in a few hours without a rope, where it takes a normal climber days to get up. But the man literally has an underdeveloped brain, or at least part of it. After doing brain scans found out his amygdala has ZERO activation, so he literally experiences fear differently than a normal person, if at all!
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/what-neuroimaging-can-tell-us-about-our-unconscious-biases/
came in here to say exactly this. for some people, their fear response is stunted.
Activation comes and goes. The page isn't loading for me but I'm skeptical of your interpretation.
https://youtu.be/tDR9lMDPA30
1:40ish
Thanks for the alternate source!
Yup, they measured that. This one individual wasn't experiencing any sort of fight-or-flight in that tube. I'm going to say we can't draw much in the way of big conclusions. Reminder again that activation just means how hard it's working at a given moment.
Honestly, the testimonials from ex-girlfriends is more interesting to me.