Was Tim Howard's incredible goalkeeping down to his tourettes?
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Tim Howard's superhuman effort to make 16 saves in America's World Cup game against Belgium could have been helped by his tourette's, experts have claimed.
They say the condition, which Howard has, can give sufferers more cognitive self-control, not less.
Researchers believe this is a lifetime of trying to control tics and also leads to improved timings.
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Safe hands: USA goalkeeper Tim Howard made a record 15 saves in his country's World Cup defeat to Belgium
WHAT IS TOURETTES?
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological condition that affects the brain and nervous system.
Named after French doctor, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described the syndrome in the 19th century, it is characterised by involuntary noises and movements.
Tics are usually vocal (grunting, coughing and shouting) or physical, with typical movements including jerking the head or jumping up and down.
Most sufferers are first diagnosed during childhood and it is linked to ADHD and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Source: NHS
The U.S. goalkeeper made 16 saves in this weeks heartbreaking knockout match against Belgium, the most by any keeper in a World Cup match in nearly half a century.
After the game, Howard was hailed a national hero, sparking a flurry of internet memes and even a prank to change the Wikipedia picture of the US Secretary of Defence to a shot of him diving to catch a ball.
'I've never counted how many tics I have in a game,' he said in a 2013 interview with Spiegel Online when asked about the condition.
He said his tics include blinking, clearing his throat, and muscle tensing.
'It happens all the time, without any warning, and it increases the nearer an important game draws,'
When the ball is far away, he says he indulges his twitches.
'I don't suppress it,' he told the German publication.
However, he said when an opposing player approaches, he calms down.
'I have no idea how I do it. Not even my doctors can explain it to me.
'It's probably because at that moment my concentration on the game is stronger than the Tourette's syndrome.'
Mr Popular: Howard has been lauded as a national hero after his performance in Salvador on Tuesday
The British Psychological Society today pointed out that his tourettes may have helped, tweeting 'People with Tourette's have more cognitive self-control, not less - more from @ResearchDigest http://ow.ly/yHB5S @TimHowardGK #USMNT'
It pointed to a 2006 study in the UK.
Sven Mueller and colleagues at the University of Nottingham asked nine young patients with Tourette's and 19 controls to sometimes make fast eye movements towards an onscreen target, and sometimes to do the reverse – to make fast eye movements in the opposite direction to a target.
A coloured border on the screen told them which rule to follow, and the rule changed every two trials.
Switching between the two commands takes mental effort, especially when the natural reflex to look at a suddenly appearing target must be inhibited.
As expected, the participants were slower to respond whenever the rule changed, as they adjusted their mental 'set' to the new rule.
Glum: In the end Howard was unable to prevent the USA losing 2-1 in extra-time at the last 16 stage in Brazil
However, to the researchers' surprise, without sacrificing their accuracy the Tourette's patients actually slowed down less than the healthy controls.
The researchers said the patients' superior performance at the task "may reflect a compensatory change in which the chronic suppression of tics results in a generalised suppression of reflexive behaviour in favour of increased cognitive control".
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