Yoga improves older adults’ Affective functioning and resting-state brain connectivity: Evidence from a pilot study

Acevedo, Bianca P.; Marhenke, Robert; Kosik, Kenneth S.; Zarinafsar, Sheerin; Santander, Tyler

doi:10.1016/j.ahr.2021.100018

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 45 publications

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“…Indeed, ballroom dance is unique in terms of the way in which the two dancers interact with each other during the duo‐dance training. Notably, other athletic and artistic activity forms, such as yoga, have been suggested to be associated with significant enhancements in both EC and other empathy components, for example, PD and PT (Acevedo et al, 2021 ). The diverse results imply that the benefits of activities on empathy might be varied based on activity types, as the engagement of different types of activities requires different skills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence

Zhang

et al. 2022

Human Brain Mapping

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Dance is unique in that it is a sport and an art simultaneously. Beyond improving sensorimotor functions, dance training could benefit high‐level emotional and cognitive functions. Duo dances also confer the possibility for dancers to develop the abilities to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of their dance partners during the long‐term dance training. To test this possibility, we collected high‐resolution structural and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 43 expert‐level ballroom dancers (a model of long‐term exposure to duo dance training) and 40 age‐matched and sex‐matched nondancers, and measured their empathic ability using a self‐report trait empathy scale. We found that ballroom dancers showed higher scores of empathic concern (EC) than controls. The EC scores were positively correlated with years with dance partners but negatively correlated with the number of dance partners for ballroom dancers. These behavioral results were supported by the structural and functional MRI data. Structurally, we observed that the gray matter volumes in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and EC scores were positively correlated. Functionally, the connectivity between ACC and occipital gyrus was positively correlated with both EC scores and years with dance partners. In addition, the relationship between years with dance partners and EC scores was indirect‐only mediated by the ACC‐occipital gyrus functional connectivity. Therefore, our findings provided solid evidence for the close link between long‐term ballroom dance training and empathy, which deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence

Zhang

et al. 2022

Human Brain Mapping

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Yoga improves older adults’ Affective functioning and resting-state brain connectivity: Evidence from a pilot study

Cited by 1 publication

References 45 publications

The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence

The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence

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