Myself – enjoying that tribal, visceral, joyous experience of dancing with friends.
Today marks the beginning of National Dance Week here in Canada, so I thought it would be fun to write about the neuroscience of dance!
Dancing beautifully integrates complex movement and motor learning, rhythmic musical synchronization, creative emotional expression, and interpersonal communication.
Because of this complexity, studying the neural basis of dance is a challenge – but one with important implications.
Uncovering the neural mechanisms of dance can offer insight into the most complex workings of the human brain, revealing applications to rehabilitation and therapy. It’s even suggested by some to be part of the “next wave” in neuroscience, studying complex behaviour like art rather than simpler phenomenon.
So how do we study the neuroscience of dance?
