“Typically, athletes are pretty in tune with their body awareness,” Lori Haase, another of Paulus’s colleagues, told me. They’re in a state of watchful anticipation, ready to handle any discomfort that arises. Then, when the flow of air is restricted and the discomfort begins, the situation flips: insular cortex activity stays low in the athletes, but goes haywire in the controls and in people with anxiety and related problems.
