Graduating Senior Chelsea Chang's Research Project: The impact of Dance Therapy on Parkinsons Disease

My name is Chelsea Chang, and I am a senior at Emory majoring in psychology and minoring in dance and movement studies. I recently finished working on a directed research project with Dr. Marshall Duke on the topic of how dance therapy affects the brain chemistry and is beneficial for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). PD is characterized by the classical triad: 1) intentional tremor 2) cogwheel rigidity stiffness and 3) motor dysfunction with a loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. (It can cause stiffness and a loss of motor control). 

Studies have shown that dance can be an alternative to conventional exercise that addresses concerns such as impaired balance, walking, and reduced quality of life. Instead of medications and deep brain stimulation, the use of exercise is a holistic approach. Additionally, dance addresses many aspects such as the performance to music that serves as an external cue to facilitate movement and the teaching of specific movement and balance strategies. Dance therapy also leads to improvements in balance, gait, and cognitive performance as well as decreases anxiety levels. With the input from Professor Julio Medina of the Emory Dance Program and Dr. Madeleine Hackney of the Emory School of Medicine who specializes in this field, I was able to underscore the efficacy of dance as a therapeutic intervention for people with Parkinson’s Disease.

I decided to research this topic because I was inspired by the discussion about the arts such as music and dance having a major impact on a Parkinson’s patient. After many decades without moving and dancing as she used to, this patient immediately started dancing and remembering specific moves from a dance she was involved in in the past when the music started playing. This was very touching to watch and led me to become more interested in the brain chemistry and researching the efficacy of dance as a medicine for patients with PD. As a dancer myself, I also wanted to use this skill to be able to help improve the lives of others. After connecting with Dr. Hackney, who has a program for volunteers to dance with Parkinson patients, I am hoping to be involved in this in the upcoming summer. Dancing is not only a way to experience movement, but it is also something that changes you, moves you deeply and transforms your mentality.