Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors

Abstract

Age-related degenerations in brain structure are associated with balance disturbances and cognitive impairment. However, neuroplasticity is known to be preserved throughout lifespan and physical training studies with seniors could reveal volume increases in the hippocampus (HC), a region crucial for memory consolidation, learning and navigation in space, which were related to improvements in aerobic fitness. Moreover, a positive correlation between left HC volume and balance performance was observed. Dancing seems a promising intervention for both improving balance and brain structure in the elderly. It combines aerobic fitness, sensorimotor skills and cognitive demands while at the same time the risk of injuries is low. Hence, the present investigation compared the effects of an 18-month dancing intervention and traditional health fitness training on volumes of hippocampal subfields and balance abilities. Before and after intervention, balance was evaluated using the Sensory Organization Test and HC volumes were derived from magnetic resonance images (3T, MP-RAGE). Fourteen members of the dance (67.21 ± 3.78 years, seven females), and 12 members of the fitness group (68.67 ± 2.57 years, five females) completed the whole study. Both groups revealed hippocampal volume increases mainly in the left HC (CA1, CA2, subiculum). The dancers showed additional increases in the left dentate gyrus and the right subiculum. Moreover, only the dancers achieved a significant increase in the balance composite score. Hence, dancing constitutes a promising candidate in counteracting the age-related decline in physical and mental abilities.

The hippocampus in multiple sclerosis

“…A study in healthy elderly people (n=26, mean age= 67.9 years, SD=3.3 years) demonstrated increases in hippocampal volume after intensive training (twice a week for 6 months, followed by once a week for 12 months; 90 minutes training). 65 The hippocampal changes were seen in people participating in fitness sport and dance; however, the changes were more pronounced and widespread in the dance intervention, including the right subiculum and left DG. Future studies should investigate whether such 'combination studies' might exert larger effects on the hippocampal network than single modality studies.…”

10-Week Hatha Yoga Increases Right Hippocampal Density Compared to Active and Passive Control Groups: A Controlled Structural cMRI Study

“…However, it should be noted that those studies on balance have found an increase not only in the right but also in both the left and the right hippocampus [103][104][105][106]. Looking at the results of the Yoga and mind-body studies, a similar inhomogeneous picture of the affected hemisphere is shown [34,40,41].…”

“…Furthermore, the balance exercises, which are an integral part of the Yoga exercises, could contribute to the effect in the hippocampus taking into account the significant role of the right hippocampus in spatial orientation [101] and the consolidation of motor sequences [102]. Several studies have shown structural increase of the hippocampus after interventions on balance [103][104][105][106].…”

The benefits of physical activity and exercise on physical, cognitive and daily life activities in aging adults

“…Physical activity programs for older adults can bring greater benefits when cognitive tasks are integrated. For example, challenging dance programs that combine aerobic fitness, sensorimotor skills and cognitive demands are promising in counteracting the decline in physical and cognitive abilities during aging (Müller et. al., 2017;Rehfeld et.…”