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Aging alters many features of brain structure and function. Emerging evidence indicates that these alterations are avoidable, however. Findings from a 2018 study demonstrate that dancing counteracts the harmful effects of aging on the human brain.

Previous research has demonstrated that dancing simultaneously challenges sensory, motor, and cognitive aspects of brain function. Dancing is comparable to other forms of exercise in terms of cardiovascular demands, but it differs in terms of coordinative and cognitive demands.

The authors of the study randomized 38 adults between the ages of 63 and 80 years to participate in one of two six-month-long exercise programs. Half of the participants engaged in active but repetitive exercises such as cycling and weight training, and the other half engaged in dancing. Both groups participated in their respective activities twice a week for 90 minutes. The authors of the study collected blood samples, performed cognitive and physical fitness assessments, and conducted imaging studies to determine the participants' responses to the interventions.

The participants who engaged in the dance intervention showed marked improvements in brain volume in several regions of their brains compared to the other group, especially in the cingulate cortex, insula, corpus callosum and sensorimotor cortex, areas responsible for emotion, learning, memory, self-awareness, and voluntary movement. Both groups showed improvements in attention and spatial memory, but dancing increased the participants' plasma BDNF levels. BDNF is a growth factor that plays key roles in neuroplasticity, the brain’s capacity to reorganize itself in response to changes in its environment.

These findings suggest that dance is superior to other forms of active exercise in terms of brain benefits. Exercise intervention programs geared toward older adults show promise as a means to forestall the harmful effects of aging on the brain.

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