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Question for professional Pychologists/Neurologists who are also Mountain Bicyclists

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Question for professional Pychologists/Neurologists who are also Mountain Bicyclists

Old 03-11-20, 05:11 PM
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Aznman
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Questions for professional Pychologists/Neurologists who are also Mountain Bicyclists

Firstly, I would like to give credit to the thread from another forum that has inspired my questionings - if you want to have a read at it, please do so at your own desire and speed:
https://www.mountainproject.com/foru...bers-iq?page=4

To the main points of this thread: has there been any (recent) academic research showing that Mountain Biking preserves fluid intelligence when you age? Are the benefits amplified when you also engage in another set of complex, active sports (rock climbing, archery, kayaking, etc)? Are there any differences between those who are mostly mountain cyclists and those who are mostly road cyclists (presumably, road cyclists would have to be highly aware of car drivers and potholes)? Has the experiment controlled for the wealth status-at-birth/at-developmental-age of cyclists?

Extraneous but pertinent information: yes, IQ is a relative scale; however, the Flynn Effect has been reversing for quite a while now, meaning that the correlation between IQ and the high limit of everyday functionings (an 'absolute' scale) has been consistent.
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/26/6674
I'm also aware that there are a few of those with Down's Syndrome (average sufferers' IQ of around 55) who are capable of being professional bodybuilders and mountain bikers; however, please leave the outliers out of this discussion.
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Old 03-14-20, 06:12 PM
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Not that I'm aware of but you can try a pubmed search. There's probably work out there linking exercise in general to resistance to cognitive decline, but not specifically MTBing.
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Old 03-15-20, 07:11 PM
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Happy Feet
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Originally Posted by Aznman
Firstly, I would like to give credit to the thread from another forum that has inspired my questionings - if you want to have a read at it, please do so at your own desire and speed:
https://www.mountainproject.com/foru...bers-iq?page=4

To the main points of this thread: has there been any (recent) academic research showing that Mountain Biking preserves fluid intelligence when you age? Are the benefits amplified when you also engage in another set of complex, active sports (rock climbing, archery, kayaking, etc)? Are there any differences between those who are mostly mountain cyclists and those who are mostly road cyclists (presumably, road cyclists would have to be highly aware of car drivers and potholes)? Has the experiment controlled for the wealth status-at-birth/at-developmental-age of cyclists?

Extraneous but pertinent information: yes, IQ is a relative scale; however, the Flynn Effect has been reversing for quite a while now, meaning that the correlation between IQ and the high limit of everyday functionings (an 'absolute' scale) has been consistent.
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/26/6674
I'm also aware that there are a few of those with Down's Syndrome (average sufferers' IQ of around 55) who are capable of being professional bodybuilders and mountain bikers; however, please leave the outliers out of this discussion.
The lack of responses is probably due to the fact that you are asking a confused question with multiple caveats. I can't even understand how they interplay or matter to the main premise.

If you read the thread from that other forum, you would see the initial question asked was seriously flawed. There is no causal link between various climbing genres and intelligence. I suspect the same is true in cycling as well. What sub genre one chooses has a lot of factors such as location, social groups, familial support/encouragement, economic position, access to training facilities etc... not base intelligence. Except unicycling - those guys are definitely nuts.

There have been studies that show bicycling does help to mitigate the effects of Parkinson's, a neuro-degenerative disease. I do not know if that is because it moderates fluctuations in gross muscle control or re enforces motor pathways in the face of dopamine reduction. You could google it.

As to fluid intelligence, if you mean the ability to problem solve in novel situations, I don't see MTBing as being particularly good for that. It would more develop faster reflexive responses that might persist into old age but the situations to be solved are for the most part predictable. I would see cyclocross as being more causal in that regard or something like a multi-discipline obstacle course like the Spartan or Tough Mudder series.

Anyway, perhaps you could refine your query to one basic question and build from there?
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Old 03-15-20, 09:24 PM
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Aznman
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
The lack of responses is probably due to the fact that you are asking a confused question with multiple caveats. I can't even understand how they interplay or matter to the main premise.
Mainly, virtually all forums contained a few individuals who believed that 'IQ is meaningless'. My confusing caveats were made to counter those misconceptions right off the bat.

If you read the thread from that other forum, you would see the initial question asked was seriously flawed. There is no causal link between various climbing genres and intelligence. I suspect the same is true in cycling as well. What sub genre one chooses has a lot of factors such as location, social groups, familial support/encouragement, economic position, access to training facilities etc... not base intelligence.
Absolutely true, but I was just curious about the opinions of cyclists with viewpoints/evidence different from those of the rock climbers. I still have to give credit to the other forums I have read.

Except unicycling - those guys are definitely nuts.
. Thanks for the humor.

There have been studies that show bicycling does help to mitigate the effects of Parkinson's, a neuro-degenerative disease. I do not know if that is because it moderates fluctuations in gross muscle control or re enforces motor pathways in the face of dopamine reduction. You could google it.

As to fluid intelligence, if you mean the ability to problem solve in novel situations, I don't see MTBing as being particularly good for that. It would more develop faster reflexive responses that might persist into old age but the situations to be solved are for the most part predictable. I would see cyclocross as being more causal in that regard or something like a multi-discipline obstacle course like the Spartan or Tough Mudder series.

Anyway, perhaps you could refine your query to one basic question and build from there?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yes, I should refine my query if I am doing serious research; however, as of the moment, I'm just interested in the opinions of general cyclists who are informed. The main caveat is that the responding cyclists must agree that IQ is highly correlated with everyday realities.
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Old 03-16-20, 09:37 AM
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Of course IQ is involved in any activity but I don't think there is anything so unique to mountain biking that it would self select for a specific type of intelligence, beyond the basic traits inherrant in most outdoor adrenaline sports. I imagine it appeals to thrill seeking and a certain immortality mindset that the young generally possess and then winnows that down to those who have it as a more base mental outlook as age and injuries eliminate many who would otherwise grow out of that phase.

beyond that, those with quicker reflexes, a higher pain threshold, success economically or socially, and access to trails probably dictates who stays and who falls off.
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Old 03-28-20, 03:45 AM
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bababooey to ya'll

signing off,
horsetoothjackass.
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