Ever Wondered? Episode 1
How science is impacting our physical performance
In Episode 1 of Ever Wondered?, Dr John Watt meets scientists
who test the effect of ingesting or just tasting carbohydrates.
Research is done to measure effects on energy and skill and to try
to explore the mysterious connection between the mouth and the
brain to produce more energy.
Ingesting carbohydrates during sports increases energy and
performance
Massey University's Dr Ajmol Ali tests football players by giving them carbohydrates at regular intervals during intense exercise. To simulate real game conditions, he goes beyond using a standard treadmill and has modified a system for testing called the LIST. Ajmol and his team have also created the LSST system that simulates other aspects of the game like passing and shooting goals. This test helps to gain a better understanding of skill and dexterity as well as cognitive function during a game.
This research shows that ingesting carbohydrates during a soccer
game can have a significant impact on the player, particularly
during the crucial last 15 minutes of a match. A player could get
up to 33% more energy by ingesting carbs at regular intervals
during the game. The benefits go beyond extra energy and skill
function and could also lead to increased immunity, reduction in
injury, increased cognitive skill and a big impact on the 'feel
good' factor.
Carbohydrate mouth rinse produces energy boost
Dr Nick Gant is an exercise physiologist at Auckland University and has discovered that carbohydrates only need to be tasted to improve energy output.
Nick uses a treadmill that simulates running in the real world. He uses double-blind trials in which neither the subject nor the scientist knows which of the 2 liquids contains the carbohydrates and which is the placebo. After extensive trials, Nick discovered that, even though the carbohydrate solution was not being swallowed, there was an instant increase in performance of up to 2%. This can provide a huge advantage in professional sports where the difference between coming first and last can be less than 1%.
The speed and instant effect of the carbohydrate without
ingestion led Nick to join forces with the Neuroscience Department
at Auckland University to try to unlock this mysterious 6th sense
taste connection to brain.
Exploring the 6th sense link between taste and
brain
Nick joins neuroscientists Associate Professor Winston Byblow and Dr Cathy Stinear. Winston has his brain tested by sitting in a specially designed chair and is hooked up to electrodes. Cathy moves a wand-like tool, the transcranial magnetic stimulator (TCMS), around Winston's head to locate the portion of the brain that controls the bicep movement. Winston generates force by flexing his arm and bicep. He is then given the carbohydrate mouth rinse solution. The carbohydrate in the mouth immediately produces additional stimulation going from the brain to the muscle. Results confirm an increase in strength of up to 2%.
Cathy explains that the next stage of the research is incorporating the use of an MRI machine to get more accurate readings of which parts of the brain react to the carb rinse in the mouth. But how do you get a test subject to stay perfectly still while doing a muscle test? And how do you get the solution in and out of the mouth while in the MRI chamber? Nick and one of his students used their Kiwi ingenuity to come up with a device to solve these problems.
This research could have consequences beyond the sports field and may help prepare us for surgery or help the recovery process for stroke sufferers.
Activity idea
In conjunction with this episode of Ever Wondered?, your students may enjoy these activities.
In this activity, students investigate muscle fatigue using the
action of opening and closing a clothes peg. They can predict the
result and design experiments to identify recovery times.
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Sporting-Edge/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Finger-marathon
In this activity, students analyse data from an experiment that
measures force and velocity for various load conditions in a bench
press exercise.
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Sporting-Edge/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Measuring-the-power-output-of-elite-athletes
In this video clip, students watch researchers describe how their
research is used to improve athletic performance. Athletes Richard
Patterson and James Dolphin talk about the edge that recent
research findings give to their performance.
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Sporting-Edge/Sci-Media/Video/Research-to-improve-athletic-performance
Context links
To further investigate how science is impacting our physical performance, check out these Science Learning Hub contexts.
Sporting Edge: This context has articles about
the application of scientific principles and techniques to improve
sporting performance, and the sources of energy for exercise.
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Sporting-Edge
See-through Body: In this context, find out
more about medical imaging techniques and how scientists look at
the brain in action using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/See-through-Body
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