Repeat studies show multiple
benefits in brain function and body movement through dance practice
Jan. 8, 2016
A recent article in
the Harvard Gazette suggests dance
as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disorders such as
Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Imaging studies have identified
several brain regions involved in the complex, rhythmical, and coordinated
movements that constitute dance. The motor cortex is — as with other kinds of
voluntary movement — involved in planning, controlling, and executing dance
moves.
The somatosensory cortex, as the name
implies, is involved in processing sensory information, but it is
also responsible for motor control. The basal ganglia connects with
other brain regions to make movement smooth, and the cerebellum helps by
combining brain and spinal cord signals to execute complex and
delicate movements.
While many researchers want to know
how our brain makes us dance, the effects of dance on the brain are a
popular field of investigation. Many of these findings, not surprisingly,
overlap with results from exercise studies, showing improved memory and
increased neural connectivity in dancers.
Harvard Gazette specifically mentions
a study in the high-profile New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating that
dance lowered dementia risk. The study explored the effects of a long list of
physical activities, including cycling, golf, swimming, and tennis, but found
only dance to protect against dementia. According to the researchers, it
was the combination of mental effort and social interaction that
gave dance its unique neuroprotective aspect.
Another study found the dance Zumba
improved mood, decision-making, and visual recognition, while
additional studies point to beneficial effects of reduced stress,
increased levels of serotonin, and improved cognitive skills such
as executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition.
Parkinson’s disease researchers are
among these investigators, and studies in PD patients show that gait and
upper-extremity function is improved when patients are exposed to rhythmic
auditory stimulation (RAS).
Daniel Tarsy, professor of neurology
at Harvard Medical School and director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement
Disorders Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, sees dance as a form
of RAS. Tarsy told the Gazette that PD
patients “speak and walk better if they have a steady rhythmic cue.”
Peter Wayne, an assistant professor
of medicine at Harvard, studies tai chi in PD patients. Tai chi was
developed as a Chinese self-defense martial art but is now a popular form
of exercise. Consisting of slow and balanced movements, it can be
considered a ritualized, structured form of dance, he said.
According to the Gazette,
research has shown that PD patients practicing tai chi had improved
strength, flexibility, and cognitive performance, and a reduced risk of
falls, compared to non-practitioners.
Dr. Tarsy has initiated several programs that
offer tai chi, Zumba, yoga, and drumming for people with PD at
the Beth Israel Deaconess. He said that it is not known if, and how,
these programs will benefit the patients, but research evidence clearly points
to the possibility that dance can stabilize the effects of the disease and slow
the progression of motor complications.
http://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2016/01/08/dance-may-improve-symptoms-in-parkinsons-disease/
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