The Performance Cortex

How Neuroscience is Redefining Athletic Genius. Why couldn't Michael Jordan, master athlete that he was, hit a baseball? Why can't modern robotics come close to replicating the dexterityof a five-year-old? Why do good quarterbacks always seem to know where their receivers are?In this deeply researched book, Sports and Business reporter Zach Schonbrun explores what actually drives human movement and itsspectacular potential. The groundbreaking work of two neuroscientists in Major League Baseball is only the beginning. Schonbrun tracesthe fascinating history of motor research and details how new investigations in the brain are helping explain the extraordinary skills oftalented performers like Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Lionel Messi; as well as musical virtuosos, dancers, rock climbers,race-car drivers, and more. Whether it is timing a 95-mph fastball or reaching for a coffee mug, movement requires extraordinary computation that many take forgranted - until now. The Performance Cortex ushers in a new way of thinking about the athletic gifts we strain to see in our cavernousarenas. It's not about the million-dollar arm anymore. It's about the million-dollar brain.