Effects of Improvisational Dance on Balance in Parkinson's Disease: A Two-Phase fMRI Case Study.

Aims: This two-phase pilot examined the effects of group-delivered improvisational dance on balance in people with Parkinson's disease. Subsequently, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was examined in one individual for changes in whole-brain functional network connectivity. Methods: In Phase I, seven community-dwelling adults (mean age 67) with middle stage Parkinson's disease completed a 7-week improvisation dance series. In Phase II, one participant from the pilot group underwent brain scanning following a 5-day trial of dance. Results: Group pretest-posttest balance comparisons from Phase I were significant on the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale ( p = 0.017). Posttest scans in Phase II exhibited significantly increased network connectivity between the basal ganglia and premotor cortices. Conclusions: Improvisational dance resulted in functional gains in balance for people with Parkinson's disease and merits further exploration. For one participant, functional improvements appeared to correlate with emergence of higher order neural functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]