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Olympic Athlete Neuroscience Visuals

August 6, 2021 by Nicolle Fuller Leave a Comment

Olympic Athlete Neuroscience Visuals

Working with incredible scientists at the top of their field is one of my favorite things about creating science visuals. Most of the time, that means creating animations of black holes or cancer nanosphere illustrations. Which don’t get me wrong, is incredible. But, it was a special treat to create an infographic about the neuroscience of gymnastics. Like many girls, I did gymnastics just long enough to believe I was good at it ;-). Approaching this art, I loved thinking about how gymnast’s skills encompass mental AND physical strength.

Yet, I hadn’t thought about this series of illustrations, even with the 2021 summer Olympics in full-swing. It wasn’t until Simone Biles shook the gymnastics world by NOT competing, that I was reminded of it. Her mention of twisties brought me back to this simple series of illustrations. The drawings were created for Columbia’s Zuckerman Brain Institute for the 2016 Olympics when Simone Biles won 4 golds. The series highlighted how little we understand about the neurology of movement.

Athlete Movement and Neuroscience Drawings

Drawings that highlight the neural pathways of movement:

  • Sensory nerves send the signals of touch to interneurons in the spine.
  • The vestibular nuclei in the brain stem handles split section adjustments.
  • The inner ear helps track acceleration and gives us balance.
  • The visual cortex processes visual signals, allowing gymnasts to track their position.

Olympic Gymnastics Neuroscience Infographic

If you look in our gallery, we don’t highlight many small ‘spot’ illustrations. Our jam is usually creating detailed, immersive science experiences. Yet, it can be so rewarding to create simpler drawings that complement the whole of a science communication piece. In this case, I worked closely with Devin Powell who was developing both the text content and the infographic design. I love the way he brought it all together with a photograph of Simone Biles on the beam. The combination of tension and grace helps us understand the mental phenomenon of a world-class athlete.

athlete gymnast neuroscience illutsration infographic
Infographic design by Devin Powell for Columbia | Zuckerman Institute. Photograph of Simone Biles from the Associated Press. Published in the Washington Post.

Thoughts on Work, Athletes, and Mental Health

Neurology is a mystery. Piece by piece we learn a little bit more about how our brains work. In light of this year’s Olympics, I wonder how these neurological studies on the brain and movement cross-reference to studies of mental health. When we’ve reached our limit of stress, what does that do to this carefully orchestrated system?

As an adult who’s a tad older than the average olympian ;-), I’ve been able to try many different pursuits. I marvel at the focus and dedication it takes for Olympic athletes to compete. As many who know me will tell you, I can sometimes be… obsessive. Now, with my kids reflecting my emotional state back to me, I’ve been working on being kinder to myself. It’s hard! It’s hard to recognize and admit weakness. To know when we need a break, to reach out to others, to forgive ourselves. So when Simone Biles announced she was pulling out of the team All-around competition I felt…celebratory. I know that many were disappointed, but I thank her and others—like Naomi Osaka and Noah Lyles—for their strength, candor, and self-respect.

I hope that by showing our support of those who speak out, we can help change sports to better support our athletes, and ultimately ourselves.


Thoughts? Comments? We’d love for you to join the conversation. Leave a comment, and sign up for our newsletter below.


Related posts:

  1. What is in the mRNA Vaccine?
  2. 2020 SayoStudio Science Art
  3. Conceptual Science Illustration World Bee Day, 2021
  4. An Illustrated Review of Plastic Pollution

health,  Inspiration,  Science,  Science Illustration,  Scientist Feature diagram,  infographic,  medical art,  mental health,  neurobiology,  science communication,  science illustration,  science visuals,  simone biles,  sketch,  sports,  sports reflexes,  usa gymnasts

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#sciart—microbes 🔬to galaxies 🔭—Nicolle Fuller leads SayoStudio creating art & animation of science wonders. #scienceillustration

SayoStudio
Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter out of wood?! 

Trees naturally have xylem -- a straw like tubing -- to transport water and nutrients into the tree. The pores inside these xylem tubes are very complex on a nanoscale. Water molecules can flow freely through the tubing, but larger bacterial cells get trapped inside the xylem structures.
Because this filtration system removes rotavirus and E. coli, these filters meet the standards set by @WHO for clean, drinkable water. 

Learn more about nanoscientist Krithika Ramchander and Dr. Rohit Karnik's (@mit_engineering) research and see an animation of the xylem catching bacteria on our blog: https://sayostudio.com/science-diy-water-filter-animation

Art and animation created by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio
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#waterfilter #diywaterfilter #xylemwaterfilter #treefilter #tree #xylem #mit #engineeringweek #engineering #mitengineering #nanoscience #scicomm #sciart #scienceillustration #scientificillustration #sayostudio #animation
Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is? Then allow us to introduce you to the basics of #StringTheory! â €
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String theory is a Theory of Everything (Grand Unification Theory) that seeks to unite the gravitational force with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetism and nuclear forces) that are already described by quantum mechanics at the atomic level. â €
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Gaining a foothold in the theoretical physics community during the 1970's, string theory states that fundamental particles such as quarks + electrons are not points of energy or matter, but result instead from the vibrations of one-dimensional ‘string-like’ entities on a far smaller scale. ⠀
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Although string theory is highly debated and very complex, it poses very interesting solutions to why our observed universe acts the way it does. â €
What's your take on string theory? â €
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Artwork by Nicolle R Fuller, SayoStudio â €
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#stringtheory #granreunificationtheory #theoryofeverything #physics #quantummechanics #nuclear #multidimensions #dimensions #sciart #scienceillustration #scicomm #electromagnetism #energy #matter â €
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Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused by ancient viral infections? â €
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The recent discovery of viral proteins in the brains of MS/ALS patients created a mysterious link between human genes and neurodegenerative disease. â €
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Researchers are just now beginning to understand how ancient human endogenous retroviruses (or HERVs) affect our immune responses today. HERV proteins cause disruptions of nuclei in cells; triggering the cells to mount an immune response in the central nervous system. This disruption spreads from cell to cell progressively; and is shown to cause significant motor neuron deterioration. â €
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You can read more about this research here: https://loom.ly/_uTOBvc â €
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Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @the_scientist_magazine. â €
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#msawarenessweek #multiplesclerosis #neurodegenerative #neurodisease #als #ms #medicalillustration #cell #sciart #scicomm #scienceillustration #medart #stem #sayostudio â €
Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might seem normal...but for some, it's a common symptom of atrial fibrillation. 💓

Afib is a heart arrhythmia characterized by irregular or fast beating. Electrical signals in the heart dictate how often your heart pumps-- and for some this can get out of whack, causing palpitations and dizziness. 

Luckily  treatment exists to manage Afib. To learn more, visit the American Heart Association or click the link below: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation

Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @popularmechanics
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#AmericanHeartMonth #NationalHeartMonth #Scienceillustration #sciart #hearthealth #americanheartassociation #afib #atrialfibrillation #arrhythmia #valentinesheart #heartart #medicalart #medicalillustration
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