Motor Mirroring Exhibited by Brains of Veteran Dance Spectators During Versed Dance Recital

Acquainted ballet spectators possessing no physical expertise in ballet demonstrate enhanced muscle-specific motor responses when watching live ballet, states report in the journal PLoS ONE.

Acquainted ballet spectators possessing no physical expertise in ballet demonstrate enhanced muscle-specific motor responses when watching live ballet, states a March 21 report in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

This result when watching such a formal dance as ballet is striking in comparison to the similar enhanced response the authors found in empathic observers when watching an Indian dance rich in hand gestures. This is important because it shows that motor expertise in the movements observed is not required to have enhanced neural motor responses when just watching dance performances.

Dance Therapy Empowers People With Special Needs at RASA
Dance therapy empowers people with special needs where methods adopted and employed aim at holistic development.

The authors suggest that spectators covertly simulate the dance movements for styles that they regularly watch, causing the increased corticospinal excitability.

The researchers, led by Corinne Jola of the University of Surrey, as part of the Watching Dance Project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, found that the enhanced neural response required a precise match between the type of dance a viewer knew well and the type currently being viewed. Specifically, frequent ballet spectators responded most strongly to ballet, and Indian spectators to Indian dance specific movements, if they scored high on cognitive empathy (tendency to fantasize). None of the study participants had received any dance training, so it was significant that their neural motor responses were modulated just by their viewing experience.

Source-Eurekalert

World Record as 12,000 People Sway in a Dance Class
The Guinness World Record for the largest dance class was broken by a whopping 12,000 people who showed their dancing skills at the Esplanade in Malaysia.

Movement Therapy For Schizophrenia
The movement therapy could be effective in schizophrenia treatment. The therapy trains people to be focused and centered on their own bodies and includes some forms of yoga and dance.

Conscientious Men Likelier to Floor Women on Dance Floor
Conscientious men with socially agreeable personalities are likelier to be perceived as good dancers by women, a new study states.