A 2021 York University study showed that weekly dance training improved motor function and daily living for those with mild Parkinson's disease. So what is it about dance that's different from other exercises?
Helena Blumen, a scientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, says the mental multitasking that dance requires activates various parts of the brain at the same time, which can lead to the building of better connections across different brain regions. Basically, dancing requires more "brain power" than simpler repetitive exercises.
While scientists are still learning how dancing works in the brain, a clearer picture is beginning to take shape. In 2018, researchers at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany, did MRI scans （扫描） of older adults who had taken part in one of the two programs over six months: one group practiced dance and the other did a traditional exercise program with cycling and strength training.
Both groups improved their level of physical fitness, but the dancers grew more white and grey matter in the parts of the brain that are responsible for cognitive （认知的） processes. What's more, the dancers showed an increase in blood plasma BDNF, a factor known to play an important role in the development of brain capacity （能力）. Together, the researchers suppose, these brain changes contribute to more of the brain's ability to form new connections and pathways.
In a different study in 2022, Blumen and other researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that social ballroom dancing, when compared with treadmill walking among adults over 65, was connected with diminished possibility of developing Alzheimer's disease and improved overall quality of life.
Similar studies have shown the benefits of dance in conditions ranging from MS to Huntington's disease or other mental illnesses. Dance therapy （疗法） might even help people with brain injuries. A small Finnish study of 11 people with severe brain injury showed that dance-based therapy may improve mobility, cognition and overall well-being.
