Are there two mutually hostile groups of Parkies: science and pharmaceuticals on one side; dancing and diet and bicycles and t’ai chi and meditation on the other side? Sham surgery for clinical trials –vs- witchcraft? Chemical pills –vs- pure spirit? Rationality –vs- romantic myth? Objective –vs- subjective?
With both sides rebuking the other? East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet?
….it only appears that way, it even appears that way sometimes on this forum – but science is an art and art is a science. Getting the two together makes a difference. Here are some scientific observations of Parkies dancing: - (the links are to peer-reviewed medical studies, from 6 or 7 years ago; almost completely ignored)
It takes two to Tango
From Argentina, with love
http://parkinsonsdance.blogspot.com/...hapter-13.html
What is the craziest thing we could do?
What could we announce that would make people say "That is a stupid idea"?
Let's take people with Parkinson's movement disorders, and teach them to dance the Tango ! … asking them to perform the most complex dance moves, forwards and backwards, in harmony with another dancer.
“We recruited 19 subjects with PD and 19 age and gender-matched controls. All subjects were at least 55 years old… taught them the Tango for 13 weeks. Postural stretches, balance exercises, tango-style walking, embellishment footwork games, rhythmical experimentation, both with and without a partner…
They worked on the basic Argentine tango principles, such as partnership, timing, footwork, and movement quality….. focus was on the shape of the movement, transition and partnership skills, and less on dancing to a prescribed, instructor-dictated beat.
"Although all groups showed gains in various measures, only the Parkinson’s tango group improved on all measures of balance, falls, and gait..."
"…Many people reported to the instructors and principle investigators their disbelief that people with Parkinson’s could dance, but
this experience showed that not only could they dance, they could learn and improve their dancing abilities similar to non-neurologically challenged individuals and some, more so than the healthy elderly.
Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis
Dancers and Neurologists get together
“…volunteers danced inside the $4 million machine, as it detected the movements of information inside their brains.
Showing that the brain, when dancing, is using circuits that are not the same as the ones that are damaged in Parkinson's patients.”
http://parkinsonsdance.blogspot.com/...hapter-11.html
A major evolutionary benefit
THREE SECONDS WATCHING THE DANCE, AND YOUR BRAIN LIGHTS UP
http://parkinsonsdance.blogspot.com/...hapter-12.html
Our results show that this ‘
mirror system’ integrates observed actions of others with an individual’s personal motor repertoire, and suggest that the human brain understands actions by motor simulation.
…. . Experts in classical ballet, experts in capoeira and inexpert control subjects viewed videos of ballet or capoeira actions. Comparing the brain activity when dancers watched their own dance style versus the other style therefore reveals the influence of motor expertise on action observation.
…muscles have memory…