Sport: The Interaction between Mind, Brain and Body

Sport is a spectacular window into evolution. The motor systems in primate brains tell the story of the evolutionary changes that underlie our physical capabilities. While we do not have to move to think, appraisal systems run through motor systems in the brain that aid adaptation and social interactions and underlie our participation in sports. Neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine, are also tied to the organization of actions and cognition. Predictive expectation and adjustments to changing events underlie human action. Sport is just one example of such relationship between cognition, movement and dopamine. Cephalic capability from the ordinary to the elite is anticipatory. Sport is just one example of a rather interesting and biologically important way in which to capture a mind in a body.