Dance and Parkinson’s: A review and exploration of the role of cognitive representations of action

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease causing both sensorimotor and non-motor impairments, and there is a clear need for non-medical approaches to improve quality of life. Dance is an increasingly popular activity among people with PD, which demonstrates potential therapeutic benefits. However, findings to date have been inconsistent, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying benefits of dance in PD. In this review, we provide an overview of research into dance for people with PD. The majority of evidence is in the sensorimotor domain, but cognitive, psychological and social effects have also been reported. We consider the role of cognitive representations of action within dance through observation, imitation and imagery, which may contribute to both sensorimotor and nonmotor outcomes for people with PD. Moreover, we discuss how these processes may be enhanced through dance to provide further benefits in everyday life. Finally, we propose avenues for future research to increase understanding of action representation in dance for PD, which has the potential to inform practice and maximize benefits.

The efficacy of dance for improving motor impairments, non-motor symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Notably, no studies included in this review assessed the impact of dance on proprioception or motor imagery abilities, which are sensory deficits in PD [77]. Future research should also consider the role of action observation and imitation in the context of dance classes, which may be contributing to positive physical and emotional effects [78].…”

Neural entrainment facilitates duplets: Frequency-tagging differentiates musicians and non-musicians when they tap to the beat

“…Hence, when temporal events are subdivided into smaller periodic events, sensorimotor synchronization (henceforth, SMS) is less variable (Repp, 2003;Repp, 2010;Repp and Dogget, 2007). This phenomenon, known as the subdivision benefit, may be fundamental to our ability to synchronize with each other in music, dance or sports (Damm et al, 2020;Solberg & Jensenius, 2019) and could contribute to movement rehabilitation (Schaefer, 2014;Nombela, et al, 2013;Bek et al, 2020). Previous research has studied the neural oscillations underlying the beat and its slower metrical grouping (Nozaradan, 2014).…”

Arts Engagement Facilitated by Artists With Individuals With Life-limiting Illness: An Integrative Review of the Literature

“…[73][74][75] Similarly, dance programs for Parkinson's disease require highly nuanced practice and are well-structured and mapped in the literature. [76][77][78][79][80] Therefore, it is recommended that a research agenda is mapped for arts engagement for each patient population identi ed as having specialized needs to identify outcome measures best suited to assess bene ts and risks. Finally, in a few studies not included in the present review, researchers engaged expressive writing (EW) with women with metastatic breast cancer.…”