Dance and Parkinson’s Disease

The Center for Arts in Medicine has partnered with the UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration to conduct research on the effects of dance on Parkinson’s disease. The general hypothesis for this study is that dance, like aerobic activity, potentiates neuroplasticity, particularly in the frontal lobes and, thus, enhances behavioral measures of walking ability, balance, cognition and language production in people who participate in the Dance for Life program. The UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration has recently designed a study assessing aerobic exercise under this same hypothesis. Funding from the Parkinson Research Foundation has allowed investigators to add a dance intervention group to this broader study, which is funded by the National Institutes on Aging (a division of the National Institutes of Health). Study participants attend the Center's Dance for Life program three times per week for 16 weeks.

The Dance for Life program is designed to help people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) improve their quality of life through enhanced physical well-being, social interaction, creative expression, and targeted improvements in Parkinson’s symptoms including impaired balance, strength, and mobility, cognitive impairment, and language dysfunction. The study will determine whether dance can be effective in improving Parkinson’s disease severity, walking ability, balance function, cognition and/or language deficits in people with PD, and compare the relative magnitude of the effects of aerobic exercise, dance, and a commonly-recommended stretch exercise program on cognition and language in PD. The findings from this study may substantially advance the development of treatments for PD because they explore drug-freeinterventions for cognitive and language impairment that can potentially have pervasive effects on patient well-being.

Dance for Life Study Principle Investigator: Jill Sonke

Overarching Study Principle Investigator: Dr. Lori Altmann

Click here for information about the Dance for Life program.