Dear Geoff,

I really enjoyed reading your website summary on the Yips (and other links to Neurosciences in general!)

Attached is a recent study that we completed here in Auckland last year with low handicap golfers, both with and without yips-like symptoms. We used the findings of the Mayo group as a starting point for the study, and added some novel experimentation. Maybe you will find it interesting.

With kind regards,

Winston

Associate Professor Winston Byblow
Director, Movement Neuroscience Laboratory
Department of Sport & Exercise Science
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand 1142
w.byblow@auckland.ac.nz
Ph: 64 9 373 7599 x86844
Fax:64 9 373 7043

Dear Winston,

You and the team are to be heartily congratulated on a nice piece of work sorting pyschological yips into a different pile from neurological yips. Maybe we can come up with two different terms, like "the yips" (neurological) as opposed to "choking" (psychological). I think if we stopped calling them both "yips", the search for help would gain focus and speed by investigating the obviously distinct underlying etiologies.

I hope you have forwarded your study directly to Dr Charles Adler at the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, as he is currently spending piles of a Drug Company's money covering pretty much the same ground.

For those interested, the study is published as The Yips in Golf: Multimodal Evidence for Two Subtypes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 38(11):1980-1989, November 2006. by Stinear, Cathy M.; Coxon, James P.; Fleming, Melanie K.; Lim, Vanessa K.; Prapavessis, Harry; and Byblow, Winston D., and is posted in my Science section here.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
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This is Dr Byblow's profile from the Auniversity of Auckland's Faculty of Science, Sport and Exercise Science:

Associate Professor
Winston Byblow
Room 734.316, ext.86844,
w.byblow@auckland.ac.nz

Research Interests

My students and other collaborators examine the
sensorimotor consequences of neurological disorders
such as Parkinson’s disease and focal dystonia, as well
as the changes in the brain that occur following stroke.
The emphasis is placed upon identifying the affected
neurological mechanisms, understanding their functional
implications, and contributing to a scientific framework
for rehabilitation in order to improve quality of life.

Selected Publications

• C oxon JP, Stinear, CM & Byblow WD. 2006.
Intracortical inhibition during volitional inhibition
of prepared action. Journal of Neurophysiology
95(6):3371-83
• B yblow WD & Stinear CM 2006. Modulation of
short-latency intracortical inhibition in human primary
motor cortex during synchronised versus syncopated
finger movements. Experimental Brain Research
168(1-2):287-93.
• C arson RG, Riek S, Mackey DC, Meichenbaum DP,
Willms K, Forner M, & Byblow WD. 2004. Excitability
changes in human forearm corticospinal projections
and spinal reflex pathways during rhythmic voluntary
movement of the opposite imb. Journal of Physiology
560 929-40.
• Stinear CM & Byblow WD. 2004. Impaired
modulation of intracortical inhibition in focal hand
dystonia. Cerebral Cortex 14: 555-561
• Stinear CM & Byblow WD. (2003). Role of
intracortical inhibition in selective hand muscle
activation. Journal of Neurophysiology 89, 2014-2020
• L ewis GN & Byblow WD. (2002). Altered
sensorimotor integration in Parkinson’s disease. Brain
125, 2089-2099.
• Stinear JW & Byblow WD. (2002). Disinhibition in the
motor cortex is enhanced by synchronous upper limb
movements. Journal of Physiology 543.1, 307-316.
37

This is Dr Cathy Stinear, a Post-doctoral fellow in the program:

Human Neurophysiology,
Movement Disorders and
Rehabilitation
BSc, PhD (Auckland)

Research Interests
My research interests centre on the way the
brain uses inhibition to control movement, and
plastic reorganisation of the motor control system.
Reorganisation of the motor cortex plays an important
role in learning new skills, and the rehabilitation
of impaired motor control following stroke. The
development of movement disorders like dystonia
and Parkinson’s disease is linked to abnormal inhibition
and maladaptive cortical reorganisation. I use a variety
of techniques to measure motor cortex function and
inhibition in healthy people and those with movement
disorders, including transcranial magnetic stimulation
and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The
effects of various neuromodulation techniques, such
as bimanual movement therapy and noninvasive brain
stimulation are under investigation. By determining the
neurophysiological basis of these techniques, we can
refine and target rehabilitation for maximum benefit.

Selected Publications

• Stinear CM, Coxon JP, Fleming MK, Lim VK,
Prapavessis H, Byblow WD. (in press) The ‘yips’ in
golf: multimodal evidence for two sub-types. Med
Sci Sports Exerc.
• V erstynen T, Spencer R, Stinear CM, Konkle T,
Diedrichsen J, Byblow WD, Ivry RB. (in press)
Ipsilateral corticospinal projections do not predict
congenital mirror movements: A case report.
Neuropsychologia.
• Stinear CM, Fleming MK, Byblow WD. (2006)
Lateralization of unimanual and bimanual motor
imagery. Brain Res 1095(1): 139-147.
• B yblow WD, Stinear CM. (2006) Modulation of
short-latency intracortical inhibition in human
primary motor cortex during synchronised versus
syncopated finger movements. Exp Brain Res
168(1-2): 287-293.
• Stinear CM, Byblow WD, Steyvers M, Levin O,
Swinnen SP. (2006) Kinesthetic, but not visual, motor
imagery modulates corticomotor excitability. Exp
Brain Res 168(1-2): 157-164.
• Stinear CM, Byblow WD. (2005) Task-dependent
modulation of silent period duration in Focal Hand
Dystonia. Mov Disord. 20(9): 1143-1151.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone.com
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.

Visit the new PuttingZone Blog for podcasts of putting tips:
Site PuttingZone Blog
RSS XML Subscription