what really is “muscle memory”?

Question

Our muscles don’t have little brains that remember how to move. It has to be a subconscious process, right?

And why is is that sometimes when we slow down to think about a highly practiced action, it becomes more difficult to do?

In: 16

Answer 1

Look up the concept of “neuroplasticity,” which is the idea that our brains build stronger connections between neurons the more that pathway is used. Neuroplasticity is at its peak in the first 20 years of our lives, which is why people who learn a sport or 2nd language at an early age are often able to learn it at a much deeper, more intuitive level than those who learn in adulthood.