The Newest Weapon In The Quest
For Athletic Performance Gianni Merlo AIPS
President
Let’s face it – doping has sadly become the main
issue facing sport.
Almost every day we are bombarded by news of
doping scandals at all
levels. Athletes, federations, and clubs are under
constant scrutiny
and it’s becoming more and more difficult for the
media to enjoy doing
their work.
Fighting the dopers is not cheap. WADA president
Sir Craig Reedy
yesterday appealed for donations and suggested
that broadcasters and
sponsors put their hands in their pockets to “help
fund clean sport”.
The world was shocked by Maria Sharapova’s
recent admission that she
used the banned medication Meldonium. No doubt
sales of this drug will
increase as the so-called amateurs become more
and more fascinated by
its properties – just as when Ben Johnson was
caught for the use of
Stanazolol in 1988 there was an incredible spike in
sales of the
synthetic anabolic steroid.
In an ironic twist the pharmaceutical companies
are the ones who
benefit when a top champion is caught doping. It’s
the “best” kind of
advertising. Scientists are not only pushing the
boundaries to find
cures for disease; they are also focussing on
increasing stamina.
Most recently in Nature Magazine I read with both
fascination and
skepticism about how ‘Brain doping’ may improve
athletes’ performance:
“Working with Halo Neuroscience in San Francisco,
California, the
sports group (US Ski and Snowboard Association,
USSA) is testing
whether stimulating the brain with electricity can
improve the
performance of ski jumpers by making it easier for
them to hone their
skills. Other research suggests that targeted brain
stimulation can
reduce an athlete’s ability to perceive fatigue.
Such technologies
could aid recovery from injury or let athletes try
‘brain doping’ to
gain a competitive advantage.
“The USSA is working with Halo to judge the
efficacy of a device that
delivers electricity to the motor cortex, an area of
the brain that
controls physical skills. The company claims that
the stimulation
helps the brain to build new connections as it
learns a skill. It
tested its device in an unpublished study of seven
elite Nordic ski
jumpers, including Olympic athletes.”
Should we be scared or it this normal? I would like
to know your
opinion because we cannot be complacent; we
must find the right way
for the future of sport.




http://independentnig.com/2016/03/brain-doping-newest-weapon-quest-athletic-performance-gianni-merlo-aips-president/