Sports Science Review - Communication, Movement, and Psychology

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering inter-system communication, homeostasis, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, energy metabolism, musculoskeletal and neuromuscular function, movement analysis, skill acquisition, training principles, and sports psychology based on the lecture notes.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Consists of the brain and spinal cord; acts as the control centre for information processing, decision-making, and signal integration.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Nerves outside the CNS that function as a pathway to send sensory information to the CNS and relay commands back to the body.

Afferent Nerves

Sensory nerves that carry information toward the CNS from receptors detecting temperature, pressure, stretch, pain, and chemical shifts.

Efferent Nerves

Motor nerves that carry signals away from the CNS to muscles and glands to trigger contractions or adjust physiological processes.

Somatic Nervous System

A division of the nervous system that controls voluntary skeletal muscle movements, allowing conscious activation of motor units.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Controls involuntary processes such as heart rate, digestion, and sweating; divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

Activates the ‘fight or flight’ response, increasing heart rate, breathing rate, and blood glucose during high-intensity activity.

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Branch of the ANS that promotes recovery, rest, and energy conservation, reducing heart rate and stimulating digestion.

Cerebellum

Brain structure that coordinates timing, precision, and smoothness of movement by comparing intended with actual movement.

Hypothalamus

Part of the diencephalon that regulates homeostasis, including body temperature, thirst, hydration, and hormonal functions.

Proprioceptors

Sensory receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints that detect position, movement, stretch, and tension.

Baroreceptors

Receptors that detect blood pressure changes and send signals to the cardiovascular centre to adjust heart rate and vessel diameter.

Chemoreceptors

Receptors that detect chemical changes such as oxygen levels, $CO_2$, and blood pH to trigger adjustments in ventilation.

Epinephrine and Norepinephrine

Hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolic rate, stimulating glycogen breakdown during high-intensity exercise.

Insulin

Hormone that lowers blood glucose by promoting its uptake into cells; levels decrease during exercise.

Glucagon

Hormone that increases blood glucose by stimulating glycogen breakdown; levels increase during exercise.

Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH)

Hormone that reduces urine production to help retain water and prevent dehydration during exercise.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a stable internal environment (temperature, pH, hydration) within narrow limits despite external disturbances.

Negative Feedback

A homeostatic mechanism where the body activates processes to reverse a change in a variable, moving it back toward the normal level.

Conduction

The direct transfer of heat between objects in contact, such as between the skin and cold water.

Convection

Heat loss through the movement of air or water across the skin.

Evaporation

The primary cooling method during exercise where sweat evaporates from the skin to remove heat.

Heat Acclimatization

Physiological adaptations occurring after $7-14$ days of heat exposure, including earlier onset of sweating and increased plasma volume.

Heat Stroke

A life-threatening condition where core temperature rises above $40^{\circ}C$ and thermoregulation fails completely.

Vasoconstriction

The narrowing of blood vessels in the skin during cold exposure to preserve core heat.

Cardiac Output (Q)

The amount of blood pumped per minute, calculated as $Q = HR \times SV$.

Stroke Volume (SV)

The amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle with each heart beat.

Arteriovenous oxygen difference (a–vO2 diff)

The difference in oxygen content between arterial and venous blood, measuring how much oxygen muscles extract.

Pulmonary Ventilation (VE)

The total volume of air inhaled or exhaled per minute, calculated as $V_E = Tidal\,Volume\,(V_T) \times Breathing\,Frequency\,(BF)$.

Tidal Volume (VT)

The amount of air moved in or out of the lungs per breath.

Vital Capacity (VC)

The maximum volume of air that can be exhaled after a maximal inhalation.

Residual Volume (RV)

The volume of air remaining in the lungs after maximal exhalation, which prevents lung collapse.

ATP-PC System

The phosphagen system providing energy for explosive efforts lasting $0-10$ seconds using stored phosphocreatine.

Anaerobic Glycolysis

The breakdown of glucose to pyruvate and then lactate to provide ATP for high-intensity exercise lasting $10-60$ seconds.

VO2max

The maximum rate at which the body can consume oxygen during maximal aerobic effort.

Lactate Threshold (LT)

The exercise intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate rapidly in the blood, exceeding the rate of clearance.

Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)

The elevated oxygen uptake after exercise used to replenish $PCr$ stores, clear lactate, and restore oxygen stores.

Synovial Joints

Freely movable joints characterized by a joint cavity, including hinge, ball-and-socket, and pivot types.

Type I Muscle Fibres

Slow-twitch oxidative fibres with high mitochondrial density and fatigue resistance, used for endurance.

Type IIx Muscle Fibres

Fast-twitch glycolytic fibres with the highest contraction speed and force production, but low fatigue resistance.

Isotonic Contraction

A muscle contraction where the muscle length changes, divided into concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening).

Motor Unit

A single motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it innervates.

All-or-None Principle

The principle stating that when a motor neuron fires an action potential, all muscle fibres in the motor unit contract fully or not at all.

Golgi Tendon Organs (GTOs)

Proprioceptors located in tendons that detect tension and protect muscles from excessive force by causing relaxation.

Sagittal Plane

An anatomical plane that divides the body into left and right halves and involves flexion and extension movements.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

States that force equals mass times acceleration ($F = ma$).

Ground Reaction Force (GRF)

The force exerted by the ground back onto the body in response to the force the body exerts on the ground.

Open Skill

A skill performed in an unpredictable, changing environment, such as passing in football.

Autonomous Stage

The third stage of motor learning where the skill becomes automatic and requires little conscious effort.

Knowledge of Results (KR)

Extrinsic feedback providing information about the outcome of a performance.

Specificity

The training principle stating that training must match the specific needs of the sport, energy systems, and muscle groups used.

F.I.T.T. Principle

The variables used to achieve overload in training: Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type.

Periodization

The organization of training into cycles (macrocycles, mesocycles, microcycles) to maximize performance at specific times.

Interactionist Theory

States that behaviour results from the interaction between personality traits and the environment, expressed as $B = f(P \times E)$.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

A motivational theory focusing on the three basic psychological needs: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness.

Inverted-U Hypothesis

States that performance increases with arousal up to an optimal point, after which further increases in arousal lead to performance decline.

Catastrophe Theory

Proposes that if cognitive anxiety is high, a continued increase in physiological arousal will lead to a dramatic drop in performance.

Nideffer’s Model of Attention

Classifies attention along two dimensions: Width (Broad/Narrow) and Direction (Internal/External).

Psychological Skills Training (PST)

The systematic practice of mental techniques like goal-setting, imagery, and self-talk to enhance performance.