New Tool Trains Athlete Brains To React 53 Percent Faster

All great athletes know that in order to perform well, they can't just depend on their physical capabilities. Speed and efficiency in decision-making are just as essential

multiple object-tracking exercises. The athletes' capacity to absorb a lot of information simultaneously and manage it efficiently increased on average by 53 percent

In one of these exercises, subjects in the automatic virtual environment cave were asked to follow the increasingly rapid movements of a series of balls and identify those that quickly changed colour. After each training session, which lasted about an hour, results were recorded and athletes could note their progress. "It's like physical training, but for the brain," says Faubert.

Athletes could wear a virtual helmet that would allow them to train anywhere

cybernetic gloves and glasses and, while viewing superimposed images, they could practise complex movements

Every movement

would be recorded