Cerebellum..

 

Table tennis heavily engages the cerebellum, the brain's coordination center, due to its demands for fast reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and rapid processing of the ball's spin and trajectory, requiring integration between motor skills (cerebellum, parietal/occipital lobes) and strategic thought (prefrontal cortex) for successful execution. 

This rapid, coordinated action boosts neural pathways, improves cognitive functions like attention, and enhances brain connectivity, making it a "brain sport" that benefits mental agility. 

The cerebellum is crucial for coordinating movements, and table tennis trains it intensely with its quick back-and-forth action, linking vision to motor response.

• You must track the ball, anticipate spin, and plan shots, all involving the cerebellum for coordination and the parietal/occipital lobes for visual processing.
• The prefrontal cortex plans tactics, while the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex work together to execute the physical follow-through.
• Studies show ping pong players have increased dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in areas including the cerebellum, hippocampus, and visual cortex, indicating better network flexibility.
•  This comprehensive engagement improves attention, memory, and overall cognitive function, making it a great workout for the brain, especially for aging adults. In essence, table tennis is a "chess on steroids," demanding constant mental and physical integration, strengthening the neural networks controlled by the cerebellum and other key brain regions.