Dance, Embodied Agency and Neuroplasticity in Aging

Download or read book Dance, Embodied Agency and Neuroplasticity in Aging written by Glenna B. Batson and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-11-18 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dance is a multi-sensory and multi-modal form of movement expression, one that stimulates creative potential for innovative action and intersubjective communication. Over the last two decades, results from systematic reviews have shown a spectrum of dance styles to be powerful, non-pharmacological agents in advancing intergenerational health across quality-of-life domains. This Research Topic invites further investigation into the specificity of how the dancing body can access untapped cognitive resources that promote brain health in the elderly. While early findings from dance protocols have been shown to impact positively on structural- and functional neuroplasticity, the link between embodied agency and brain health remains under-researched and under-theorized. Researchers are called to design methodologies that test the eco-validity of dance, explicitly examining the interactive effects of sentient expressive movement with cognitive reserve. One challenge, among many, lies in explicating and differentiating the elements of the dancing body itself, particularly when outcomes correlate with other forms of movement-rich exercise for the elderly.