Caption: Symptoms of extreme fandom can sometimes include the wearing of funny hats., Credit: Flickr user seantoyer.
Image by: Flickr user seantoyer. 
Symptoms of extreme fandom can sometimes include the wearing of funny hats. 

Distillations Episode 139: The Brain on Sports

Series: Distillations - The Chemistry Podcast
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation
Length: 00:11:37

Embed_button
On this episode of Distillations we look at the science of sports. First, we learn how athletes go the distance, chemically speaking. Then we look into the brain of a fan. One word - dopamine! Read the full description.

Asset_upload_file489_75114_thumbnail_small

Whether it's football season, baseball season, or basketball season, one thing is constant: a good chunk of the population has sports on the brain. On today's episode of Distillations we explore why this is the case. First producer Lindsay Patterson follows a high school basketball team to learn about the role chemistry plays in winning a big game. Then we check in with the fans at home, learning what happens in your brain when you're cheering on your favorite team.

Also in the Distillations - The Chemistry Podcast series

Caption: Remember when I leeched all the calcium from your bones?, Credit: Flickr user paparutzi.

Distillations Episode 147: Babies (00:13:43)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

Big eyes, soft skin, squeezable cheeks. No doubt, babies are adorable. But in this episode we take a break from our cooing to examine some more serious aspects of parenthood. ...
Caption: Don't let the cuteness fool you. This cat is spreading dander all over its owner's house., Credit: Flickr user admiller.

Distillations Episode 146: Something in the Air (00:14:22)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

Sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose? We all know what that means: allergies. On this show we look at pet dander, a common cause. Then we talk to a researcher dissecting the ...
Caption: Pittsburgh's Schenley High School in its glory days., Credit: Wikimedia.

Distillations Episode 145: Asbestos (00:14:03)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

Asbestos, once a miracle product, is now a plague on the aging infrastructure to which it's bound. In this episode we explore a Pennsylvania town where a wide swath of ...
Caption: What is it and what does it do?, Credit: courtesy of the Bendix Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Collection, CHF Collections.

Distillations Episode 144: Mystery of Mass (Spec) (00:13:18)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

In this episode we look at the diverse history of mass spectrometry, starting with a single question: exactly what is it? Then we dip into CHF's oral history collection to ...
Caption: Hydrogen and chlorine sitting in a tree... Image from Real Fairy Folks: Explorations in the World of Atoms, by Lucy Rider Meyer, 1887., Credit: Courtesy of CHF's collections.

Distillations Episode 143: Fairyland of Chemistry (00:09:56)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

In this episode we travel back in time to the Victorian era, when innovative teachers used fairies to convey complicated ideas in chemistry. We adapted one of these whimsical ...
Caption: Godzilla attacks!, Credit: Flickr user Marxchivist.

Distillations Episode 142: Mid-century Mutants (00:14:40)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

On today's show we look at the real and imagined implications of genetic modification in the middle of the 20th century.
Caption: Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 21, 2010., Credit: Flickr user EPI2oh.

Distillations Episode 141: Disaster Recovery (00:13:42)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

On this episode we look at how environments recover after natural and manmade disasters. First, we hear about how ecosystems repair themselves after hurricanes. Then we see ...
Caption: What's in a kiss?, Credit: Flickr user Scented Mirror.

Distillations Episode 140: Swapping Spit (00:12:41)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

Pucker up! On this episode we investigate the kiss. First, what's in the saliva we share with each other? Then we interview Sheril Kirshenbaum, author of The Science of ...
Caption: Four nucleic acid bases, represented by the letters A, C, G, and T, make up your DNA. Researchers are working to decode their secrets., Credit: Flickr user skreck.

Distillations Episode 138: Your Genome (00:13:29)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

On this episode of Distillations we go straight to the source ... your DNA. First, we learn how technological advances are putting the dream of a $1,000 genome within reach. ...
Caption: A sunny burst of flavor! Photo of Buddha's Hand Citron Vodka by Erin Hall, courtesy of St. George Spirits.

Distillations Episode 137: Cocktail Chemistry (00:13:20)
From: Chemical Heritage Foundation

Cheers! On today's episode of Distillations we belly up to the bar to learn about distilled spirits. Then we look ahead to the next morning to determine if our tried-and-true ...

Piece Description

Whether it's football season, baseball season, or basketball season, one thing is constant: a good chunk of the population has sports on the brain. On today's episode of Distillations we explore why this is the case. First producer Lindsay Patterson follows a high school basketball team to learn about the role chemistry plays in winning a big game. Then we check in with the fans at home, learning what happens in your brain when you're cheering on your favorite team.

Broadcast History

Podcast on Jan. 20, 2012.

Timing and Cues

0:00 Opening Credits
0:30 Introduction
1:00 Feature: An Athlete's Chemistry
7:31 The Science of Watching Sports
10:57 Closing Credits

Additional Credits

Special thanks to Ryan Carty for researching this show, and Mauricio Delgado for his thorough information about the brain on sports.

Our theme music is composed by Dave Kaufman. Music from the Free Music Archive includes "Kopeika," by et_, and "Shangri-La (instrumental)," by YACHT. This episode also features "Dopamine!," by Ric Seaberg.

Related Website

http://www.chemheritage.org/distillations