Brainy Ballplayers

Elite athletes get their heads in the game

Superstar athletes are revered for their physical prowess, not for what goes on between their ears. And most postgame interviews do little to challenge the notion that athletes have more brawn than brains.

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MIND CONTROL The brains of expert golfers preparing a swing (left, two views) show different activation patterns in motor areas and in the superior parietal area than the brains of beginners (right).