Debut

I was at my gym late last summer, grabbing a bite to eat after my workout when I overheard a group of middle aged parents having a heated discussion at the table next to mine. I quickly gleaned that one of the couples had a 13 year old son who played football. The child had suffered a concussion several days prior. The heated discussion was about how the coaching staff was not going to allow this child to start the upcoming season opener. Notice that I didn't say "heated argument". There was no debate, all four of these health conscious adults were outraged by the benching. Sitting nearby as a neuroscientist and mother of two boys aged 8 and 10 at the time, I was stunned, literally speechless, as I listened to them.

Concussions are the one aspect of sports in which Neuroscience has not only had a lot to say, but where players, coaches, and administrators have listened. Or so I thought. It's disappointing when you realize that the strong body of work your field has produced has failed to reach what may be its most important audience, the parents of future star players. The fact is that most scientific studies published in reputable, even world class journals are never seen by the average person. The popularity of contact sports like football has allowed concussion research to eek into the spotlight to some degree, though clearly not enough.

My own research concerns how the brain controls behavior. In particular we are interested in how the brain takes account of external stimuli and sensations, combines these with internal states such as age, gender, nutritional status, memories stored, etc., to arrive at a decision about what behavior to execute in a given situation. Believe it or not, evidence suggests that much of the analysis is done without conscious thought. Such computations allow us to prioritize certain behaviors that are particularly advantageous at certain times. It is with this backdrop that I started to wonder about the role of these computational processes in thinking about sports, particularly fantasy sports. See, if many of the computations that our brains perform are automatic, how much of the thinking and researching and fiddling with our fantasy lineups is genuine, or even advantageous? I've decided to take a more in-depth look at some of the inherent biases our brains exhibit, and how they might affect decisions you make (or think you make) about your fantasy teams.

As a lifelong football fan, I've considered the impact of understanding the brain on many, many more aspects of the sport, from the value of a 'smart' quarterback to fan loyalty. I've given a lot of thought to the situation I began this post with, and how cognitive science can explain the hierarchy of emotional and logical decision making. Most importantly, I've thought long and hard about what my profession can offer the millions of fantasy football players out there. How can Neuroscience help you win your fantasy league? Stay tuned!