The Unconscious action and reaction pathways, of our attention, body behaviour and long term unconscious memories;

Lets look at action plans of sending signals and conscious and unconscious starts, and movement memory, for limb control. The “reticulospinal tract” helps control balance and neutralizes the effects of gravity.

Unconscious Action; The brain registers events via the sense organs almost immediately,  but it takes up to half a second to become conscious of them in order to generate effective responses in a fast changing environment. The brain plans and executes moment by moment actions of unconscious behaviours.

Reaction Paths; It takes up to 400 milliseconds (MS) for the brain to process incoming information to this stage, where it may become conscious. It takes a similar length of time to prepare the body for action. So if we waited to be conscious of a sight or sound before starting to respond to it’s behaviour, it would lag almost a second behind the event to which we are responding. By the time we lept out of the path of a speeding car, it is likely to have run us over. The brain speeds up our physiological responses by fast tracking information to the Motor planning areas during an unconscious pathway. A visual stimuli such as a moving object prompts neural activity that works out when it is relative to the body. Various parts of the Occipital cortex and the Parietal cortex between them calculate the objects shape, size, relative motion, and trajectory. The information is then brought together and used to form an action plan, which might involve, hitting or swatting a fly.

For Example;

Avoidance and ducking or jumping out of the way of a missile or grabbing a falling fruit, or a stumbling child, the chosen response is largely learned. For Example; A skilled athlete is likely to catch or hit a speeding ball while an unpractised player might just duck it.

Returning a Serve in tennis;

The tennis player initiates movements that are complex in form to return  a last serve before they are consciously aware that the ball is on the way. Unlike novice players they do not have to think much about the play when professional. To think consciously about each movement you would be novice in each relevant muscle movement,  because with professional practise it has been shown to turn the the sequence of action into automated or an autonomous system of movements that are stored and run unconsciously. Familiarity with the opponent’s body language allows them to make well – informed unconscious predictions about where the ball will land.

Attention;

Focusing attention on the opponent prevents the brain from dealing with irrelevant stimuli. The playing styles, the usual fields, the brain registers relevant information, then you make comparative judgments,   like does my opponent play as others have? Where will the ball land, and the ball speed a factor, so speed up by 30 to 50 milliseconds. Locking onto focused data the Thalamus has direct attention to the target while the frontal lobe has inhibitory thoughts that are distracting.

Body Memory;

Dorsal and Ventral Routes, are processed in the visual systems along parallel pathways. The unconscious dorsal route generates physical responses,  while the Ventral route creates perception.

The Ventral Flow;

The visual cortex area 17, and the Dorsal Upper Pathways are involved in the above movements, thinking, planning, initiation of action of potential, and now onto the Kinetic action.

So back to tennis the ball which has not been served, but already the next serve has an unconscious planning when it gets served, of the action it must take to return it. At this stage he is mainly using information about his opponent’s movements to decide how his own body should move. A skilled player processes fewer visual cues than an un – experienced one because the brain identifies irrelevant signals at a very early stage and ignores them. The visual from the opponent is movement activated by the Parietal cortex,  which in turn calls up relevant procedural memories. These are learned actions such as how to return a serve to encoded info, as autonomous processes through the motor programs. They are stored in an unconscious brain module called the “Putamen” which requires them as the situation demands. 

Movement Memory;

Part of the Basal Ganglia the “Putamen” acts as a storer of memories, about deeply ingrained habits of moments. Signals from the “Putamen” are passed to the Parietal Cortex.

Action Plan;

The recovery players brain has registered so far to construct a response to the fast approaching ball. The information from the opponent is body movement,  unconscious knowledge of the ball’s speed, and trajectory, and the procedural memory is activated by the stimuli. The plan is held in the pre – motor area to be played out as a pattern. 

Rehearsal;

Unconscious knowledge is brought together to create an action plan that is forwarded and rehearsed in the premotor  area that is adjacent to the motor – cortex.

Sending signals;

The action plan held in the premotor cortex is transmitted to the motor cortex. The neurons in the strip of brain connected via the spine to skeletal muscles, cause the muscles to contract via the spine. In the case of firing the neurons,  about halfway down the right side of the motor strip, where it moves the left arm and hand to position the racket to connect the rest of the body. The sequences in which the neurons fire, and therefore the sequences of the limb’s movements is controlled by the Cerebellum. Signals from the motor cortex travel to the player’s hand.

Instructions to Move;

Neural signals from the Motor – Cortex are sent along the spine causing muscles to contract and leading to overt movement.

Conscious Thought Starts;

The player’s brain becomes consciously aware belatedly on the ball,  moving away from the opponent’s racket. But the brain has unconsciously predicted it’s real time position and providing the information stream’s do not clash, – the player is likely to think he sees the ball where it likely is.

Conscious Act;

In the players conscious perception, of the ball’s trajectory, differs markedly from his earlier unconscious prediction, and he may veto the earlier action in adapting, and may choose an alternative reaction plan in adapting to the new information, into a revised action. When a person steps forward on what was perceived as solid ground but was actually a downward step, and the resulting physical catastrophe triggers a cascade of signals that may generate a wide range of emotions,  including anger, embarrassment,  and feeling of failure.

Conscious Thought Start;

The player’s brain becomes consciously aware belatedly of the ground moving, the bell ringing to say the match is completed, but the brain has moved to adapt the new information stream needed. He sees the ball where it was needed to land.

MRI Videos;

Watching an MRI video of a tennis game image shows that watching it, and watching the moving ball on the video, activated areas of the brain that tracts visuals objects, but watching someone else play on the video serve or play a ball activates the visual areas,  plus a large part of the Parietal Cortex. The additional activation shows the viewer’s brain acting out the moves seen in the video. The information helps the viewer predict where the ball will go. 

Written by Carolyn d Hogarth, Rita Carter’s book and the mapping of people’s brain imaging. This shows that if you show a child how to kill on a video from movies, etc. you are literally activating the brain to store memories of how to kill. Carolyn d Hogarth Canada. (I told you that ages ago),

They can learn patterns and repeat the patterns in music, timing, rhythm, highs, low sounds, words, meaning, and you think they cannot learn how to kill. Oh yes they can, and it is in their memory stored,  in the unconscious autonomous memory. Better we teach music. The learned brain of our darlins. Uhuh!