Slow brain compensates for fast objects

The human brain is far slower than a major league fastball or a blistering tennis serve — but it has figured out a workaround.

New research by University of California at Berkeley scientists solves a puzzle that has long mystified anyone who has watched, in awe, as elite athletes respond to incoming balls that can surpass 90 mph.

The brain perceives speeding objects as further along in their trajectory than seen by the eyes, giving us time to respond, according to research by Gerrit Maus, lead author of a paper published in Wednesday’s issue of the journal Neuron.

This clever adjustment— compensating for the sluggish route from the eyes to neural decision-making — “is a sophisticated prediction mechanism,” Maus said.

“As soon as the brain knows something is moving, it pushes the position of the object moving forward, so there’s a more accurate measure of where this object actually is,” he said.

This is useful in survival situations more important than sports— such as when we’re crossing a street in front of a speeding car.