Study first to show improvements in both self-reported questionnaires and MRI brain scans
Dancing has multiple benefits for people with Parkinson’s disease, including reducing depression, suggests a new study involving Algoma University and York University researchers.
“Our research underscores the powerful impact of dance on emotional well-being in individuals with Parkinson’s disease,” said Algoma University Department of Psychology Assistant Professor, Karolina Bearss. “Beyond the physical benefits, we’re seeing real, measurable changes in brain activity linked to mood regulation, which offers a promising avenue for improving quality of life. It’s heartening to know that something as accessible as dance can play such a meaningful role in addressing the mental health challenges associated with this disease.”
The new study, published today, observed 23 participants with Parkinson’s disease enrolled in the Sharing Dance Parkinson’s program at Canada’s National Ballet School, along with 11 healthy control participants (mainly family members or caretakers). Over eight months, the participants attended weekly dance classes that gradually increased in complexity—starting with simple leg and footwork and progressing to interpretive movements, waltzes, and more intricate choreography.
“It was very cool to see that dance had a positive effect on the mood circuits in the brain, which we could see in the imaging,” said York University Faculty of Health Associate Professor, Joseph DeSouza. “These improvements that we could see on MRI brain scans were also reported by the participants via survey. Our study is the first to demonstrate these benefits across these two detection methods.”
The research was a collaborative effort between Karolina Bearss (Assistant Professor in Psychology at Algoma University), Joseph DeSouza (Associate Professor, Faculty of Health at York University), Rebecca Barnstaple (Assistant Professor of Creative Arts, Health and Wellness at the University of Guelph, with a cross-appointment in Theatre), and Rachel Bar (Director of Research and Health at Canada’s National Ballet School and also a former York University undergraduate student).
To investigate the neurological mechanisms at play, the research team focused on the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG), a specific area of the brain previously linked to depression. Throughout the study, participants underwent regular MRI scans at York University to monitor changes in this brain region. Additionally, the team used the Geriatric Depression Scale to measure mood and depression levels before and after each dance class, allowing them to track shifts in participants’ emotional states.
Participants reported feeling less depressed after each dance class, with the benefits accumulating over time and significant improvements noted after eight months. MRI scans also revealed changes in activity in the frontal cortex region of the brain that is associated with emotional regulation. Importantly, for some participants, changes in the SCG node were correlated with a significant decrease in depression scores.
“We essentially showed that SCG BOLD (blood-oxygen-level-dependent) signal decreases while dancing over time. Which means that the SCG was not functioning as fast or as much as it would if you had depression,” said Bearss. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. Before a formal diagnosis, the prodromal phase can last anywhere between two and 10 years, and it is characterized by low mood, even before other symptoms show up, such as tremors and other issues with motor control.
“People with Parkinson’s disease tend to have multiple symptoms that are not just motor related, there are a lot of symptoms that include mental and social well-being impairments, one of those being depression,” explains Bearss. This study builds on Bearss and DeSouza’s three-year long study that found that dance training helps people with Parkinson’s disease improve their motor control, mood, and other daily functions.
Dance offers a two-pronged approach to well-being: the music stimulates the brain’s reward centers, while the movement itself engages sensory and motor circuits. DeSouza, who has been dancing with the program participants for 14 years, emphasizes that while dancing is not a treatment for Parkinson’s disease per se, its positive impacts are undeniable.
“We’re not trying to cure Parkinson’s with dance,” says DeSouza, also with the Centre for Vision Research and Connected Minds at York. “What we’re trying to do is to have people live a better quality of life. This goes for both those with the disease, and their families that take care of them — they also get benefits of feeling better.”
Read the full study titled, “Impact of Weekly Community-Based Dance Training Over 8 Months on Depression and Blood Oxygen Level–Dependent Signals in the Subcallosal Cingulate Gyrus for People With Parkinson Disease: Observational Study” published today in the open-access Journal of Medical Internet Research.
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