The Performance Cortex cover art

The Performance Cortex

How Neuroscience Is Redefining Athletic Genius

 Preview

Audible Standard 1-month free trial

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo + applicable tax after 30-day trial. Cancel Anytime
Try for $0.00
Compare plans

The Performance Cortex

Written by: Zach Schonbrun
Narrated by: Thomas Vincent Kelly
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.80

Buy Now for $25.80

Athletic genius explained. A groundbreaking new perspective on the science of elite sporting performance.

Why couldn't Michael Jordan, master athlete that he was, hit a baseball? Why can't modern robotics come close to replicating the dexterity of 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 its spectacular potential. The groundbreaking work of two neuroscientists in Major League Baseball is only the beginning. Schonbrun traces the fascinating history of motor research and details how new investigations in the brain are helping explain the extraordinary skills of talented 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 for granted--until now. The Performance Cortex ushers in a new way of thinking about the athletic gifts we strain to see in our cavernous arenas. It's not about the million-dollar arm anymore. It's about the million-dollar brain.

*Includes a Bonus a PDF with Charts and Graphs Biological Sciences Science Sports Psychology Sports Human Brain Performance Psychology
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most Relevant
There's some great content in this book and the story flows decently well. As someone who is very interested in the brain and the corresponding science in sport- I really enjoyed it. I listened then bought the physical copy for a read, so I've read it twice as of this review. It elaborates on some technology that is likely to become more and more prominent in professional sports, essentially ways of determining a player's abilities by analysing their brain. I was less interested in that and more interested in general information on how the brain controls motor functions/ how we learn and execute movements. I'm a full time coach so for me it was great. It's piqued my interest of neuroscience and it's relation to sport even more- if that's possible!

A First Of Its Kind

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.