The Effects of Dance on Motor and Non-Motor Functions, and Resting State Electroencephalography in Individuals With Parkinson's Disease and Age-Matched Controls

We investigated the effects of a single Dancing with Parkinson’s (DwP) class on behavior (balance, walking speed, depression) and electroencephalography (resting state - rsEEG) in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and age-matched controls (CONs). Following a single 75-minute DwP class, individuals with PD demonstrated significant improvements in balance and depression, and CONs showed improvements in walking speed. The rsEEG also showed significant changes in both individual alpha peak frequency (iAPF) and individual alpha peak power (iAPP). CONs showed a global increase in iAPF during eyes open (EO) rsEEG and in iAPP during both eyes closed (EC) and EO conditions. Individuals with PD showed an increase in iAPP lateralized to right frontal areas, while this increase was lateralized to the left in CONs. We provide novel evidence for change in motor and non-motor functions with modulation of rsEEG alpha activity following dance class in individuals with PD and CONs.