Sigma BioBlogs

A search on Google for “Kansas upset” delivers 6,090,000 results, pulling in tweets, sports channels and news sites covering the defeat of top seeded Kansas by the University of Northern Iowa.  The “bracket killer” left many an avid viewer dismayed.  I wipe droplets off of my forearm from a nearby Miller High Life that had the unfortunate circumstance of being in one such viewer’s hand during the 3 pt shot by Farokhmanesh that sealed Kansas’ fate.

As the madness sweeps through my house, I seem to be immune and can easily steer clear of the television but, on this occasion, I stuck around.  It was worth positioning myself within range of a beverage spray to view the fist pumping and overturned popcorn bowls.  I enjoyed a bit of a geek out as I watched this crazed person beside me and thought: what is it about our biology that drives the behavior of the “sports fan”?

How is it that we react physically, leaping from our seats and raising our arms during an exciting game? When Northern Iowa shutdown Kansas in the biggest upset of the tournament, what fueled the emotional reactions from the stadium seats (and from my sofa)?  Some scientists believe the answer to be mirror neurons.

While studying the brain images of macaque monkeys, neuroscientists in Italy observed that a set of neurons fired both when the monkey performed an action and when a human it was watching performed the same movement.  The sports fan isn’t playing the game, but with the same neural network engaged in watching the athlete perform, sports fans are connected to the game as if they were performing the activity.  A new spin on the phrase “get your head in the game”.  It applies to the fans too.

Now we can understand the sports fanatic.  But does it matter?  Didn’t we love them anyway?  Sure but think of the bigger picture.  This set of neurons driving this behavior may provide the mechanism for action understanding, imitation learning and simulation behavior.  Dr. Ramachandran expands on this topic, suggesting a role in our rapid development of culture and an explanation of phantom pain in amputated limbs.  It is fascinating.

Intriguing enough to put myself into the fray again?  Well, the Midwest Sweet Sixteen games are this Friday and I am sure the TV will be tuned to a game.  I don’t think I can avoid it.  Can I at least blame mirror neurons for what happens to my spouse?  Some neuroscientists aren’t convinced.  We think a few cell biologists should get in on the debate and identify cell signaling pathways that are involved using the Your Favorite Gene Search engine.  View pathways involving motor command neurons to jump start your research, but wait until after the Madness subsides.