Functional Re-organization of Cortical Networks of Senior Citizens After a 24-Week Traditional Dance Program

Abstract

Neuroscience is developing rapidly by providing a variety of modern tools for analyzing the functional interactions of the brain and detection of pathological deviations due to neurodegeneration. The present study argues that the induction of neuroplasticity of the mature human brain leads to the prevention of dementia. Promising solution seems to be the dance programs because they combine cognitive and physical activity in a pleasant way. So, we investigated whether the traditional Greek dances can improve the cognitive, physical and functional status of the elderly always aiming at promoting active and healthy aging. Forty-four participants were randomly assigned equally to the training group and an active control group. The duration of the program was 6 months. Also, the participants were evaluated for their physical status and through an electroencephalographic (EEG) examination at rest (eyes-closed condition). The EEG testing was performed 1–14 days before (pre) and after (post) the training. Cortical network analysis was applied by modeling the cortex through a generic anatomical model of 20,000 fixed dipoles. These were grouped into 512 cortical regions of interest (ROIs). High quality, artifact-free data resulting from an elaborate pre-processing pipeline were segmented into multiple, 30 s of continuous epochs. Then, functional connectivity among those ROIs was performed for each epoch through the relative wavelet entropy (RWE). Synchronization matrices were computed and then thresholded in order to provide binary, directed cortical networks of various density ranges. The results showed that the dance training improved optimal network performance as estimated by the small-world property. Further analysis demonstrated that there were also local network changes resulting in better information flow and functional re-organization of the network nodes. These results indicate the application of the dance training as a possible non-pharmacological intervention for promoting mental and physical well-being of senior citizens. Our results were also compared with a combination of computerized cognitive and physical training, which has already been demonstrated to induce neuroplasticity (LLM Care).

Resting State EEG in Exercise Intervention Studies: A Systematic Review of Effects and Methods

“…Also studied was microstates (Spring et al, 2017(Spring et al, , 2018. Lastly, brain connectivity was considered in one study (Zilidou et al, 2018). Brain connectivity was examined by the authors by applying the LORETA method, and further examining sources of activity as nodes in graph theory based understandings of brain networks (Rossini et al, 2019).…”

“…Two studies applied LORETA to their data (Styliadis et al, 2015;Zilidou et al, 2018) in chronic intervention studies. Of these, one study reported significant findings.…”

“…In total, two studies reported on investigations involving brain connectivity and approximate entropy. The authors of one study considered graph theory based brain networks before and after a 24-week traditional Greek dance program (Zilidou et al, 2018). Zilidou et al modeled the cortex with 20,000 fixed dipoles which were grouped into 512 cortical regions of interest (ROIs) Significant time × intervention group interactions were found when measuring how much participants brain behaved as a small world, which essentially is an expression of local information processing and brain connectivity, when the threshold of connections between regions-of-interest (ROIs) were set at 10,000 and 12,500, which is an arbitrary measure used to model the network system.…”

“…The present review also identified studies using methods other than freqeuncy analysis and LORETA to analyze the EEG. An area that seems promising is the study of brain connectivity, which was studied by one group, investigating whether a 24week intervention consisting of Greek traditional dancing had an effect on this aspect of brain function in healthy individuals (Zilidou et al, 2018). The study used LORETA based estimations of current source density and then applied graph theory based understandings of brain function assigning nodes to specific clusters of EEG activity.…”

Links Between the Neurobiology of Oxytocin and Human Musicality

“…To my knowledge, there have not, to date, been any substantive reports on how oxytocin levels are affected by solo or group dance. Yet the impact of dance, especially in a coordinated group context, on increased empathy (Gujing et al, 2019 ) social bonding (Tarr et al, 2015 , 2016 ), cognitive performance, general fitness and well-being (Kattenstroth et al, 2010 , 2013 ; Zilidou et al, 2018 ; Douka et al, 2019 ) is clear. Choral singing and dance have both been reported to increase pain threshold, viewed as a surrogate for levels of circulating β-endorphin (Dunbar et al, 2012 ; Tarr et al, 2015 ; Weinstein et al, 2016 ).…”