Dance – a form of human expression in which people move rhythmically to music, typically in a quick and lively way. Most people have danced at some point, whether during a night out, alone in their bedroom, in ballet lessons as a child, or even on stage. Impressively, dancing can make the brain livelier! Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. Dance has been shown to have multiple beneficial impacts on neuroplasticity, including substantial brain function improvement, changes in brain volume and structure, and increased psychomotor activity (Teixeira-Machado 233). Dance can be widely beneficial for various age groups with a variety of abilities and skill levels.
Introduction
Dance is a multicultural, expansive practice with universal reach. Throughout history, dance has provided complex non-verbal ways of communication worldwide, eventually becoming a significant form of entertainment and art. As a result, dance creates a fascinating blend of sensorimotor skills, artistic expression, and creativity, leading to an avenue of research studying the overlap between these areas and their impact on brain function. Variations in dance practices also have different effects on the brain. Examining a person’s experience or whether they regularly learn new combinations can show various results regarding structural and functional brain systems.
Functional Changes
Changes in functional plasticity are generally associated with memory and learning (Nascimento 379). Increases in cognition, balance, processing speeds, and selective attention have been observed. A six-month study in 2013 by Kattenstroth et al. showed improvement in working memory—how short-term memory information is processed—along with selective attention, postural control, social interaction, and cardiovascular function compared to those who did not participate in the six-month program. Another study in 2018 by Rehfeld et al., which compared dance training to traditional fitness methods, showed that dancers had substantial improvement in spatial memory—the ability to remember different locations and objects in space—as well as selective attention and postural control. In 2017, an 18-month dance program showed marked improvement in verbal memory and attention (Müller et al.), while another study showed increased story memory function over a 40-week program (Doi et al., 2017). All these studies used participants who were elderly and healthy, except for Doi et al., who recruited elderly participants with mild cognitive impairments (Teixeira-Machado 238).
Few studies have examined the functional brain networks involved in actual dance performance. However, understanding how the brain functions during dance is crucial in learning about plasticity. In a study by Brown et al., a “wearable PET scanner” was created to study brain activity while amateur tango dancers performed steps involving only leg movements (Karpati 142). The cerebellum, key to coordination and balance, was activated during the entrainment of steps to music. The putamen, a component of the basal ganglia primarily known for facilitating movement, was involved in metric motion. The superior parietal lobule appeared to be involved in spatial awareness, closely related to the occipital lobe, which plays a role in attention and visuospatial perception (Johns 31). While this study was highly innovative, it only showed partial aspects of dance performance (leg movements), so these results may not fully apply to dancing involving the entire body. Other studies on dance performance and brain function have utilized either fNIRS, which is similar to fMRI but with higher temporal resolution and less motion sensitivity, or EEG, which records the brain’s electrical activity rather than blood flow (Karpati 142). fNIRS has been used by both Tachibana et al. and Ono et al. to record participants’ activity during dance simulation video gameplay. Activation of the superior temporal gyrus and superior parietal lobule was found and increased with task difficulty. The ability to predict performance accuracy based on frontotemporal oxyhemoglobin dynamics was also discovered. EEG has been used by Cruz-Garza et al. to study dancers performing movements in three categories: non-expressive movement/non-expressive thought, non-expressive movement/expressive thought, and expressive movement (Karpati 142). A machine learning algorithm was used to separate activity based on which movement/thought subsection was being completed. Activity was present in premotor, motor, and parietal regions.
Overall, dance has been shown to have immense impacts on brain function and, as a result, functional neuroplasticity. Activation of areas like the cerebellum and basal ganglia implicit in memory, motor control, and cognition can lead to positive structural changes if utilized frequently. These studies showcase the improvements that dance can bring – even for an average person with no experience.
Structural Changes
Changes in brain structure are generally associated with synaptic plasticity. Synaptic plasticity refers to the gradual strengthening or weakening of synapses, and this concept is divided into two categories. Hebbian Plasticity suggests that synapses strengthen as an activity is performed over time, a “use it or lose it” situation, as coined by Marian Diamond, a neuroscientist and professor at UC Berkeley. If there is a prolonged lack of stimulation, the synapses weaken, and the skill may be lost. In contrast, homeostatic plasticity, a negative feedback loop, balances high synaptic activity, low activity, and baseline activity, with sleep being a crucial factor for memory consolidation. Regarding dance and structural changes, the activation of synapses during dance can eventually change how the brain processes information, adapting accordingly.
An analysis of gray- and white-matter between professional dancers and non-dancers showed that dancers have thicker gray matter in the superior and middle temporal gyri and precentral gyrus (Karpati 143). Gray matter, where cell bodies are clustered, plays a significant role in allowing humans to function normally, especially in processing and releasing information via white matter. The precentral gyrus controls voluntary motor movement, while the superior and middle temporal gyri are involved in auditory processing, social cognition, and multimodal sensory integration (Onitsuka). The study also showed that dancers have greater white-matter diffusivity in the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (Karpati 143). White matter acts as an information “highway” using axons or nerve fibers. These axons are highly myelinated, allowing information to move extremely fast. The corpus callosum connects the two brain hemispheres, allowing them to communicate. The corticospinal tract conveys voluntary motor signals from the motor cortex to the rest of the body. The superior longitudinal fasciculus is a significant pathway that connects multiple lobes of the brain and is critical for memory, attention, proprioception (knowing where limbs are in space), motor movement, language, and somatosensory input.
Studies by Müller et al. and Rehfeld et al. showed significant structural changes. Müller et al. observed an increase in gray matter in the left precentral gyrus and right hippocampal gyrus. Rehfeld et al. reported an increase in the subfields CA1, CA2, and the left subiculum of the hippocampus, as well as in the left dentate gyrus CA4 and right subiculum—later studies showed even more significant increases across a wider variety of cortical areas. Together, these studies prove that dance indeed increases connectivity within the brain and central nervous system.
Interestingly, a study of musicians and dancers showed that the two activities have differing effects on white matter diffusivity. As shown earlier, dancers have increased diffusivity of white matter throughout the corticospinal tract, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and corpus callosum, along with reduced fiber coherence. In contrast, musicians have reduced diffusivity and increased fiber coherence (Giacosa 273). A possible explanation is that dancers integrate auditory, visual, and motor information to move their entire body, while musicians are generally trained to use only their hands and fingers to integrate motor and auditory information.
“We hypothesize that intensive whole-body dance training may result in greater fanning of fibers connecting different brain regions, an increase in crossing fibers, or larger axon diameter. In contrast, musical training may result in more focused enhancements of effector-specific pathways” (Giacosa 273).
A curious overlap could be drummers. Drumming on a full drum kit requires integrating most of the limbs but does not require standing or moving around like a dancer. While it is possible that drummers have the same level of fiber coherence and decreased diffusivity as other musicians, it could be interesting to explore if the level of total-body control required by drumming changes the structure of their brains.
Practical Applications
As shown, dance offers a multitude of benefits to people worldwide. While the previous studies presented mainly focused on elderly individuals with either good health or minor cognitive afflictions, other significant injuries or diseases could improve through the neuroplasticity benefits provided by dance intervention.
A case study in 2019 analyzed the impact of dance rehabilitation on a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The rehabilitee was a young man, 19 years old at the time of a high-speed car accident. Before the accident, he had experience in dance and music and was highly skilled in other academic areas. This study took place five and a half years after the accident. Since then, he has been participating in numerous rehabilitation procedures, including music therapy.
He was diagnosed with a left subdural hematoma with excessive edema, along with a 25 cm skull fracture. It was later revealed that he had suffered an excessive diffuse axonal injury—tearing of the axons—between the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the left hemisphere, the frontal lobe of the right hemisphere, the left mesencephalon, and the right brain stem. Due to this, the networks in his brain became damaged, and they could no longer communicate adequately. For the purposes of this study, the Default Mode Network (DMN) was the focus. It has been proposed that this network plays a crucial role in self-consciousness, music listening, pain reduction, narrative thinking and autobiographical memories, creativity, and decisions related to the self. Previous research suggests that DMN reorganization after a severe TBI could be imperative for cognitive recovery (Kullberg-Turtiainen 3).
A 20-week intervention, including an hour-long personal dance lesson with a physiotherapist and dance teacher, was created to address these issues in tandem with his regularly scheduled rehabilitation efforts. At the beginning, he was using a wheelchair indoors but needed assistance outdoors. He had limited mobility in the upper left arm but could perform tasks bimanually. Memory, alertness, and attention had all been impacted by the injury as well. The goal was for the rehabilitee to perform in a dance competition by the end of training. They used music that was important to him, previously used for a performance before the accident. At the end of the 20 weeks, he performed in front of a crowd of 800 people without instructions from the dance teacher. His Functional Independence Measure (FIM) increased by 29% after the program, showing improved executive function, concentration, motor control, awareness, and memory capacity.
Many studies involving brain networks and dance have also been conducted with elderly patients. In 2021, a study used ballroom dance to improve cognitive decline in the elderly over a 10–48-week period, with effects lasting 10–20 weeks post-intervention (Dominguez 425). Ballroom dance stimulates the same regions suffering from cognitive decline, such as those involved in working memory, visuomotor coordination, and spatial processing. Not only did this program improve cognitive function, but it also helped with social-emotional, physical, and quality-of-life status.
Additionally, a study was completed with Parkinson’s patients participating in tango lessons over a 12-month period. Throughout the program, tests were taken at the 3-, 6-, and 12-month points to measure motor symptoms, gait, upper extremity function, and balance. The tango group showed significant improvements compared to the control group. Often, the tango group showed either improvement or similar results to the beginning of the study. In comparison, the control group often regressed, with balance worsening, tremors becoming increasingly aggressive, and upper extremity function declining (Duncan).
Conclusion
Dance has been proven to improve cognition, balance, memory, attention, brain connectivity, and plasticity. As these areas begin to decline with age, it is an excellent therapeutic device to address or combat these symptoms. Dance is also an excellent rehabilitation resource for injuries that impact cognition. As shown, various studies have been conducted on the specific benefits of using dance as a resource for Parkinson’s, mild cognitive impairments, stroke injuries, TBIs, and aging. Several more studies emphasizing the increase of neuroplasticity could make a significantly positive change regarding cognitive conditions and how to utilize dance as a therapeutic tool to its full potential.
Works Cited
Dominguez, Jacqueline C., et al. “Linking cognitive decline and ballroom dance as a therapeutic intervention in the elderly.” Assessments, Treatments and Modeling in Aging and Neurological Disease, 2021, pp. 425–437, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-818000- 6.00038-x.
Duncan, Ryan P., and Gammon M. Earhart. “Randomized controlled trial of community-based dancing to modify disease progression in Parkinson disease.” Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, vol. 26, no. 2, 2012, pp. 132-143. ProQuest,
http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly
journals/randomized-controlled-trial-community-based/docview/917157098/se-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1545968311421614.
Giacosa, Chiara, et al. “Dance and music training have different effects on white matter diffusivity in sensorimotor pathways.” NeuroImage, vol. 135, 2016, pp. 273–286, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.048.
Johns, Paul. “Functional neuroanatomy.” Clinical Neuroscience, 2014, pp. 27–47, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-10321-6.00003-5.
Karpati, Falisha J et al. “Dance and the brain: a review.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences vol. 1337 (2015): 140-6. doi:10.1111/nyas.12632
Kullberg-Turtiainen, Marjo et al. “Individualized goal directed dance rehabilitation in chronic state of severe traumatic brain injury: A case study.” Heliyonvol. 5,2 e01184. 12 Feb. 2019, doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01184
Nascimento, Marcelo de Maio. “Dance, aging, and neuroplasticity: an integrative review.” Neurocase vol. 27,4 (2021): 372-381. doi:10.1080/13554794.2021.1966047 Onitsuka, Toshiaki et al. “Middle and inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volume abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia: an MRI study.” The American journal of psychiatry vol. 161,9 (2004): 1603-11. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.161.9.1603
Teixeira-Machado, Lavinia et al. “Dance for neuroplasticity: A descriptive systematic review.” Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews vol. 96 (2019): 232-240. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.010
Great paper and very informative!
Fascinating! Well done.