Neural Mechanisms
Contributions and Control
The Nervous System—
Central Nervous System (CNS)
 Brain and spinal cord
 Processes:
 Sensory information is integrated
 Decisions are made
 Signals are generated and sent to muscles and glands
to carry out responses
The Nervous System—
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
 Nerves that extend from brain and spinal cord,
linking body and CNS
 Afferent division:
 Detects changes in the environment and conducts
nerve impulses from sensory receptors to CNS
 Efferent division:
 Transmits nerve impulses away from the CNS
Sensory Receptors
 Exteroceptors:
 Detect stimuli outside the body
 Provide information about the external environment
 Interoceptors:
 Detect stimuli from internal viscera
 Provide information about the internal environment
 Proprioceptors:
 Provide information regarding body position and
movement
 Detect changes in muscle tension, joint position, and
equilibrium
Vision
 Predominant sensory receptor:
 70% of all the body’s sensory receptors are located in
the eyes
 40% of the cerebral cortex is thought to be involved in
some aspect of processing visual information
 Sport vision:
 Focuses on investigating visual contributions to
performance
Basic Structures of the Eye
Visual Fields of the Eyes
and Associated Neural Pathways
Focal vs. Ambient Vision
 Focal system:
 Ambient system:
 Functions to identify
 Thought to be
objects located
primarily in the center
of the visual field
 Linked to
consciousness
 Operates under
voluntary control
responsible for spatial
localization and
orientation
 Functions at a
subconscious level
 Serves both central
and peripheral visual
fields
Your Perspective
 When you are out walking or bike riding in the
woods, what do you pay attention to and what
other things are you just vaguely aware of?
 How does this differ when you are walking down
a city street at night?
Visual Abilities in Performance
 Eye dominance
 Spotting
 Fixating
 Visual search
Eye Dominance
 One eye processes information and transmits it to
the brain more quickly than the other
 Same-side dominant
 Cross-dominant
Visual Search Strategies
 Quiet eye
 Targeting skills:
 Archery, rifle shooting, putting, free throws in
basketball, etc.
 Interceptive skills:
 Striking, catching, landing, avoiding a collision
 Tactical skills:
 Quick, accurate situational decision making
 Attention to relevant environmental cues
 Pattern recognition
Vision
Tips for Practitioners
Develop effective visual search strategies:
 Instruction and feedback should direct learners to
areas where critical cues occur
 Appropriate learning experiences should provide
extensive practice opportunities
 Video training—with challenges to anticipate an
opponent’s actions
 Context of learning situations should include a good
deal of variability
Proprioception
 The continuous flow of sensory information
received from receptors in muscles, tendons,
joints, and inner ear regarding movement and
body position.
 Types:
 Golgi tendon organs
 Muscle spindles
 Joint kinesthetic receptors
 Vestibular apparatus
Proprioception and Performance
 Makes the motor control system more efficient
and flexible
 Provides information about initial body and limb
position, which serves as the basis of
programming of motor commands
 Evaluates movement for correctness:
 Compares proprioceptive feedback to the intended goal
 Makes adjustments
Transmission of Information
via the Spinal Cord
Sensory and Motor Pathways
 Sensory (ascending) pathways:
 Spinothalamic and posterior or dorsal column pathway
 Conduct impulses related to pain, temperature, touch,
pressure, and vibrations
 Motor (descending) pathways:
 Pyramidal and extrapyramidal pathways
 Conduct impulses related to voluntary and
subconscious movements
Spinal Reflexes
 An automatic, involuntary response to stimuli
 Reflex arc—simplest pathway by which a reflex
occurs
 Types:
 Monosynaptic reflex
 Polysynaptic reflex
Reflexes
Monosynaptic reflex loop
Withdrawal and crossed extensor
reflex arc
Damage to the Spinal Cord
 Types of injury:
 Complete
 Incomplete: Effects depend on the area of the spinal
cord affected
 Level of injury:
 In general, the higher up the spinal cord that injury
occurs, the greater the extent of the injury.
Parts of the Brain
 Brain stem
 Diencephalon
 Cerebrum
 Cerebellum
Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
 Sensory areas
 Motor areas
 Association areas
 Basal ganglia
Functional Areas
of the Cerebral Cortex
Cerebellum
 Monitors movement by comparing what was
intended with what is actually taking place
 Plays a key role in detecting and correcting errors
 Works with motor cortex to produce smooth,
coordinated movements
 Plays a key role in maintaining posture and
balance
Memory Systems
Subsystems of Long-Term Memory
 Episodic memory:
 Information about personal experiences and events
 Semantic memory:
 General, factual knowledge
 Procedural memory:
 Skills, operations, and actions
Your Perspective
 Sometimes it is much easier to remember events
from our childhood than to remember what we
had for breakfast the day before yesterday. Why
do you think that is?
 Why do you think certain smells or songs have
such a strong effect on our ability to remember
people and events?
Forgetting
 Decay theory
 Interference theory:
 Proactive interference
 Retroactive interference
Proactive and Retroactive
Interference
Memory
Tips for Practitioners
 Keep instructions and feedback short and simple
 Provide ample opportunities for physical
rehearsal
 Relate a skill being learned to previously learned
skills
 Use meaningful labels and analogies to
strengthen associations
 Group several movements together