Dance Intervention Impact on Brain Plasticity: A Randomized 6-Month fMRI Study in Non-expert Older Adults

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Authors

BALÁŽOVÁ Zuzana MAREČEK Radek NOVÁKOVÁ Ľubomíra NĚMCOVÁ ELFMARKOVÁ Nela KROPÁČOVÁ Sylvie BRABENEC Luboš GRMELA Roman VACULÍKOVÁ Pavlína SVOBODOVÁ Lenka REKTOROVÁ Irena

Year of publication 2021
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source frontiers in aging neuroscience
MU Faculty or unit

Central European Institute of Technology

Citation
Web https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2021.730722/full
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.724064
Keywords dance intervention; resting state fMRI; independent component analysis; intra-network connectivity; attention; cognitive
Description Background: Dance is a complex activity combining physical exercise with cognitive, social, and artistic stimulation.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the effects of dance intervention (DI) on intra and inter-network resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) and its association to cognitive changes in a group of non-demented elderly participants.

Methods: Participants were randomly assigned into two groups: DI and life as usual (LAU). Six-month-long DI consisted of supervised 60 min lessons three times per week. Resting-state fMRI data were processed using independent component analysis to evaluate the intra and inter-network connectivity of large-scale brain networks. Interaction between group (DI, LAU) and visit (baseline, follow-up) was assessed using ANOVA, and DI-induced changes in rs-FC were correlated with cognitive outcomes.

Results: Data were analyzed in 68 participants (DI; n = 36 and LAU; n = 32). A significant behavioral effect was found in the attention domain, with Z scores increasing in the DI group and decreasing in the LAU group (p = 0.017). The DI as compared to LAU led to a significant rs-FC increase of the default mode network (DMN) and specific inter-network pairings, including insulo-opercular and right frontoparietal/frontoparietal control networks (p = 0.019 and p = 0.023), visual and language/DMN networks (p = 0.012 and p = 0.015), and cerebellar and visual/language networks (p = 0.015 and p = 0.003). The crosstalk of the insulo-opercular and right frontoparietal networks were associated with attention/executive domain Z-scores (R = 0.401, p = 0.015, and R = 0.412, p = 0.012).

Conclusion: The DI led to intervention-specific complex brain plasticity changes that were of cognitive relevance.

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