08/14/2025
The YIPS: A Brain–Body Performance Breakdown — and How TheFNC Targets It
By Dr. Jeremy Schmoe, DC, DACNB, FACFN, FABBIR
Founder & Clinical Director, The Functional Neurology Center
The “YIPS” have derailed the careers of athletes across sports — from golfers and baseball pitchers to dart throwers, tennis players, and even musicians. Once thought to be purely psychological, modern neuroscience shows that the YIPS are a neurological performance disorder that disrupts the brain–body systems responsible for smooth, automatic, high-precision movement.
They can strike suddenly or develop gradually under stress. They are most visible in fine-motor, target-oriented skills, where even a millisecond delay or subtle muscle co-contraction can cause a miss, a short putt, or a wild pitch.
What the Science Says
Research, including advanced neuroimaging studies like PMC8121935, reveals that YIPS athletes show:
• Altered cerebellum–basal ganglia–motor cortex connectivity
• Abnormal visual–motor integration
• Reduced inhibition and timing precision in movement circuits
• Co-contraction patterns consistent with task-specific dystonia in some cases
• Amplification of symptoms under autonomic stress load
The literature frames the YIPS on a continuum:
• Type I – Neurological/dystonia-predominant (movement disorder)
• Type II – Psychological/choking-predominant (stress and attentional disruption)
• Mixed type – Most common, with both neural and psychological components
The Neurological Players
• Cerebellum – Timing, rhythm, and error correction
• Basal ganglia – Movement initiation and suppression
• Motor cortex – Final voluntary motor output
• Superior colliculus – Eye–head–hand targeting and rapid orientation to a goal
• Parietal cortex – Spatial mapping and sensory integration
• Autonomic nervous system (ANS) – Adjusting tone, arousal, and muscle readiness under pressure
• Default mode network (DMN) – Background network that can interfere when overactive during performance
Autonomics and Vagal Nerve Integration
The ANS is critical in high-skill performance, fine-tuning muscle tone, oxygen delivery, and attention. In YIPS cases, we often see:
• Sympathetic overdrive — fight-or-flight dominance under stress
• Poor vagal tone — inadequate parasympathetic modulation
• Breathing dysfunction — irregular rhythm affecting timing and coordination
TheFNC’s vagal nerve integration uses:
• HRV biofeedback
• Breath pacing drills
• Auricular vagus stimulation
• Embedding parasympathetic activation into sport-specific skills
The Default Mode Network and Motor Interference
The DMN should quiet during goal-directed movement. In YIPS athletes, it can stay active, leading to:
• Overthinking automatic skills
• Heightened self-awareness mid-action
• Slower, less fluid motion sequences
TheFNC’s DMN modulation strategies include:
• Dual-task performance training
• Mindfulness-to-action transitions
• Visual–vestibular anchoring for external focus
TheFNC’s Comprehensive Diagnostic Process
We use multi-modal testing to pinpoint the choke points in the performance loop:
1. Oculomotor & Vestibular
• VNG for gaze stability and vestibular integration
• Retitrack for precise ocular movement measurement
• Saccadometer for saccadic latency and accuracy
2. Balance & Sensory Integration
• Dynamic posturography for sensory weighting analysis
• Dual-task balance testing under cognitive load
3. Primitive Reflex Assessment
• Identifying retained reflexes (ATNR, STNR, TLR) that disrupt posture and precision
4. Neck Proprioception
• NeckCare.com assessment for cervical joint position sense and head–neck–eye coordination
5. Neuroinflammation Screening
• Symptom scoring, functional labs (cytokines, CRP, gut–brain markers)
TheFNC Rehabilitation Framework
1. Sensory & Visual Integration Remapping
• Rebuilding body–target maps
• Superior colliculus training for rapid re-targeting
2. Primitive Reflex Integration
• Reflex-specific neuro-motor exercises to stabilize posture and coordination
3. Neck Proprioception Rehabilitation
• NeckCare.com protocols to refine cervical–ocular–vestibular alignment
4. Autonomic Regulation & Vagal Integration
• HRV biofeedback, breath pacing, vagal activation embedded into skill training
5. Default Mode Network Modulation
• Dual-task & external focus drills to keep performance circuits dominant
6. Timing & Rhythm Optimization
• Interactive Metronome® to recalibrate cerebellar and basal ganglia timing loops
7. Immersive Simulation
• Virtual reality training to replicate sensory load and competition stress
Personal Story: My Own Battle with the YIPS
While pitching for the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks in 2003, I underwent shoulder surgery that changed my throwing mechanics. My release point felt off, my timing disrupted, and hesitation crept into every motion.
What I didn’t know then was that I had sensory–motor remapping errors and autonomic dysregulation. Functional neurology — including vagal nerve work, visual–vestibular retraining, primitive reflex integration, and neck proprioception rehab — helped me restore my throwing mechanics years later!
The YIPS are not a mental weakness — they are a brain–body network dysfunction that can be measured, mapped, and retrained.
By integrating cutting-edge neuroscience, advanced diagnostics, and individualized neuro-rehab, TheFNC restores fluidity, confidence, and automaticity to high-level performers.
📍 The Functional Neurology Center
🔗 www.theFNC.com
