A new study conducted by researchers at York University shows that dance may help stop the cognitive decline associated with Parkinson’s disease, with some participants even demonstrating signs of improvement.

Joseph DeSouza, an associate professor in the Faculty of Health and co-author of the study, says that because cognitive abilities almost always deteriorate as the disease progresses — and since this was a multi-year study — the results are quite remarkable.

“The typical course of Parkinson’s disease involves cognitive decline in addition to motor symptoms, and some people already experience significant cognitive impairment by the time they are diagnosed,” noted DeSouza, who worked closely with the study’s lead author, Simran Ruprai, a second-year master’s student in York’s interdisciplinary program. “So, we found it quite significant that no one in the dance group experienced any further cognitive decline over the six years.”

The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, included 43 participants with Parkinson’s disease.

A group of 28 individuals with Parkinson’s, who led a sedentary lifestyle and did not engage in any physical activity, took part in dance sessions that began with seated warm-ups, followed by barre exercises, and concluded with dance activities on the floor. One group was also taught special choreography in preparation for an upcoming performance.

The researchers found that cognitive scores in the dance group improved compared with the control group, where no changes or slight decline were observed.

The study suggests that dance may help preserve cognitive abilities — or possibly even enhance them — in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

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