Emotion, Embodiment, and Mirror Neurons in Dance/Movement Therapy: A Connection Across Disciplines

Abstract

The current study questions whether our emotions change depending on whether we watch a person model postures or, rather, embody the postures ourselves. The posture photographs from the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Test of Posture (DANVA2-POS) were used as the stimuli by which to rate levels of agreement among participants. Forty-one individuals were randomly allocated to one of two groups (observing or embodying) and invited to rate, in open-ended written responses, twenty-four postures by describing the emotion or feeling associated with each posture. The responses were then coded as happy, sad, angry, fearful, shameful, or surprised. A comparison of means demonstrated that there were no differences in response among all emotions except anger. A significantly higher anger response was shown for the embodying condition than for the observing condition.

The Use of Dance in the Rehabilitation of a Patient with Multiple Sclerosis

“…Some clinical trials and neuroscientific discussion indicate the involvement of mirror neurons in the rehabilitation process of patients with neurological illnesses using dance/movement therapy, recognizing certain neurobiological mechanisms that underlie human behavior and function (Berrol, 2006;Winters, 2008).…”

An African Igbo Perspective on Mourning Dances and Their Application to Dance/Movement Therapy

“…Based on empirical research, Winters (2008) acknowledged DMT's power to help transform individuals who use ''their bodies to move through pain and gain insight into their deepest levels of consciousness processing'' (p. 88). Dance/movement therapists Bacon (2007), Keller (2000), Levy (2005), and Schoop (1974), have used exaggerated movements and humor in dance or dramatic performances in the face of bereavement as a way of fostering emotional and physiological balance among affected individuals.…”

Terapia a través de la danza y el movimiento en mujeres con cáncer de mama: el impacto psicofísico del proceso empático

“…Para Rogers, el proceso de empatía se define como "percibir el cuadro de referencia interno del otro tan precisamente como sea posible, con los componentes emocionales y las significaciones que le pertenecen como si se fuera esa persona, pero sin perder nunca de vista esa condición de "como si". Relacionándolo de nuevo con aspectos neurales, el descubrimiento de la neuronas espejo en monos (29,44) y de los mecanismos de espejeo en el cerebro humano (31,45) demuestra que los mismos substratos neurales son activados cuando algún acto expresivo es tanto ejecutada como percebida (46) . En un estudio de RMNf Carr y su grupo mostraron que tanto la observación como la imitación de la expresión facial de las emociones activa los mismas estructuras cerebrales, incluyendo el córtex premotor ventral, la insula y la amigdala (47) .…”