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A study in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine examined whether the basal ganglia can be activated during rhythmic, metered movement such as tango dancingHackney & Earhart (2009). Effects of dance on movement control in Parkinson's disease: a comparison of Argentine tango and American ballroom. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 41(6), 475-481. doi:10.2340/16501977-0362, potentially increasing motor control in patients with Parkinson's disease. The researchers compared the effects of tango, waltz/foxtrot, and no dance intervention on functional motor control. The study found that tango may target Parkinson's-related deficits more than waltz/foxtrot, but both forms appeared to help with balance and locomotion — supporting dance therapy as a beneficial intervention for Parkinson's patients. Another study examining exercise therapy and music in Parkinson's patients found that music-based movement (MbM) therapy shows promise for improving gait and gait-related activitiesde Dreu et al. (2012). Rehabilitation, exercise therapy and music in patients with Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 18(S1), S114-S119. along with walking ability, balance, and quality of life.

Age-related degradation in brain structure is linked to balance issues and cognitive impairment. Neuroplasticity, however, is understood to be preserved throughout a lifetime, and research on physical training in seniors suggests it can meaningfully increase hippocampal volume — a region essential for memory retention and spatial navigationRehfeld et al. (2017). Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11:305. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00305, alongside improvements in aerobic fitness. That same study found dancers showed additional increases in the left dentate gyrus and right subiculumRehfeld et al. (2017). Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11:305. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00305 — the dentate gyrusJonas & Lisman (2014). Structure, function, and plasticity of hippocampal dentate gyrus microcircuits. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 8:107. doi:10.3389/fncir.2014.00107 being a hippocampal region tied to memory and information processing, and the subiculumO'Mara (2005). The subiculum: what it does, what it might do, and what neuroanatomy has yet to tell us. Journal of Anatomy, 207(3), 271-282. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2005.00446.x tied to spatial navigation and stress response. A separate study synthesizing existing data on dance movement interventions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia found that dance interventions had a significant effect on global cognition, memory, and balance, and significantly decreased depressionSystematic scoping review & meta-analysis (2023). Effectiveness of dance movement interventions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia. ScienceDirect..

As mentioned in the Alzheimer's research above, dance interventions have also been associated with decreased depression levels. Beyond reducing depression, dance has been linked to increased overall mood. Recent research on exercise as a form of automatic emotion regulation has shown altered amygdala activation associated with mood volatilityScienceDirect (2025). Boosting your mood: How exercise and the amygdala dance together.. When researchers examined whether specific regions of the amygdala play distinct roles in the mood improvements caused by acute exercise, they found that particular amygdala regions were associated with reduced negative affect, increased self-esteem, reduced tension and anger, and increased vigor, respectivelyScienceDirect (2025). Boosting your mood: How exercise and the amygdala dance together.. Another study synthesized 41 controlled intervention studies and found that dance movement therapy decreases depression and anxiety while increasing quality of life and interpersonal and cognitive skillsKoch et al. (2019). Effects of dance movement therapy on health-related psychological outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1806. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806. In summary, dance is essentially movement synchronized to music — and music itself has been shown to trigger dopamine release in the brain's reward circuitry, including the nucleus accumbens — a neurotransmitter directly tied to feelings of reward and pleasureSalimpoor, Benovoy, Larcher, Dagher & Zatorre (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14(2), 257-262. doi:10.1038/nn.2726. Music is another core part of what makes dance so powerful and memorable.

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