During this study the researches compared the area in the
cerebellum where vestibular information is processed, the area that “feels”
dizziness in trained dancers. This is what we call vertigo, the perception of
rotary self-movement. Ballerinas showed a much smaller active area of the gray
matter of vestibular cerebellum and reported feeling much less dizzy compared
to the control group (Nigmatullin 2013). Also, the amount of dancing experience
correlated to the amount of reduction in the activated area in the cerebellum.
The more you practice “whole-body rotations,” the less vestibular response.
Normally, pirouetting/spinning also stimulates a reflexive
vestibulo-ocular reflex, in other words it will cause a reflex in the eye
muscles. The perception of spinning usually matches the reflex of the eye.
However, the trained dancers did not show this coupling effect, and showed less
activation of the eye muscle reflex (Nigmatullin 2013). Since we know that synapse à
integration, this is an interesting example where an adaptation reduces the
integration instead of increasing integration.
Does this mean that doctors could prescribe ballet lesson
for people with chronic vertigo?
References:
Nigmatullin Y, Hellyer PJ, Parashkev N, Sharp DJ, Seemungal
BM. 2013. Thenueroanatomical correlates of
training-related perceptuo-reflex uncoupling in dancers. Cerebral Cortex. 23(11).
Retrieved from
http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/09/24/cercor.bht266.short
Imperial College London (2013, September 26). Ballet
dancers' brains adapt to stop them
getting
in a spin. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130926204725.htm
Mia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog post! Next time when I am teaching classes on Sundays, I will allow my six-year-olds to spin around recklessly rather than stopping them, which I have been doing! Essentially, by letting them become twisters in the classroom, I can help them reduce their chances of having to take anti-vertigo drugs. Aside from that, this post is very interesting--particularly the last paragraph. You stated that ballet dancers lack the coupling effect of pirouetting and the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Do you think this might also be due to the "spotting" technique that these dancers use? Spotting is a technique used while spinning, particularly, keeping the eyes fixed on a specific location. As the body begins to spin, the head is the last to move, but first to return to the initial location. I've always heard that ballerinas believe that this is what is preventing them from feeling dizzy. I didn't know if "spotting" was a contributing factor to the findings on the studies you looked at. Also, while you were doing your research, did you find anything on figure skaters since they seem to be doing a lot of spinning as well? Personally, my guess is that the specific brain region dealing with dizziness for these individuals is also reduced.
Great questions, Doan. From what I found, they did not investigate the dancer's "spotting" technique. It is possible the spotting technique is used during training and therefore part of this uncoupling (change in gating) response. This article did not mention any research that had been done on figure skaters, but I would agree with your assumption. It makes me wonder about other sports and the benefits of uncoupling responses to training concurrently with increased networks in white matter. On another note, it was interesting to see that the control group was a number of rowers (to match for age and physical fitness). Now if I can uncouple studying and distractions..
DeleteThe primary article would make a great TBL paper:
http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/09/24/cercor.bht266.full.pdf+html