Kattenstroth Jan-Christoph, Kolankowska Izabella, Kalisch Tobias, Dinse Hubert R
Neural Plasticity Lab, Institute for Neuroinformatics, Ruhr-University Bochum Bochum, Germany.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2010 Jul 21;2. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2010.00031. eCollection 2010.
Aging is associated with a progressive decline of mental and physical abilities. Considering the current demographic changes in many civilizations there is an urgent need for measures permitting an independent lifestyle into old age. The critical role of physical exercise in mediating and maintaining physical and mental fitness is well-acknowledged. Dance, in addition to physical activity, combines emotions, social interaction, sensory stimulation, motor coordination and music, thereby creating enriched environmental conditions for human individuals. Here we demonstrate the impact of multi-year (average 16.5 years) amateur dancing (AD) in a group of elderly subjects (aged 65-84 years) as compared to education-, gender- and aged-matched controls (CG) having no record of dancing or sporting activities. Besides posture and balance parameters, we tested reaction times, motor behavior, tactile and cognitive performance. In each of the different domains investigated, the AD group had a superior performance as compared to the non-dancer CG group. Analysis of individual performance revealed that the best participants of the AD group were not better than individuals of the CG group. Instead, the AD group lacked individuals showing poor performance, which was frequently observed for the CG group. This observation implies that maintaining a regular schedule of dancing into old age can preserve cognitive, motor and perceptual abilities and prevent them from degradation. We conclude that the far-reaching beneficial effects found in the AD group make dance, beyond its ability to facilitate balance and posture, a prime candidate for the preservation of everyday life competence of elderly individuals.
衰老与身心能力的逐渐衰退相关。鉴于许多文明当前的人口结构变化，迫切需要采取措施，使老年人能够保持独立生活方式。体育锻炼在调节和维持身心健康方面的关键作用已得到广泛认可。舞蹈除了具有身体活动外，还融合了情感、社交互动、感官刺激、运动协调和音乐，从而为人类个体创造了丰富的环境条件。在此，我们展示了多年（平均16.5年）业余舞蹈（AD）对一组老年受试者（65 - 84岁）的影响，并与未记录有舞蹈或体育活动的年龄、性别和教育程度匹配的对照组（CG）进行比较。除了姿势和平衡参数外，我们还测试了反应时间、运动行为、触觉和认知表现。在所研究的每个不同领域中，与非舞蹈的CG组相比，AD组都表现出更优的性能。对个体表现的分析表明，AD组中表现最佳的参与者并不比CG组的个体更好。相反，AD组中缺乏表现不佳的个体，而CG组中经常观察到这种情况。这一观察结果表明，老年时期保持定期跳舞可以保留认知、运动和感知能力，并防止它们退化。我们得出结论，在AD组中发现的广泛有益效果使舞蹈不仅能够促进平衡和姿势，还成为维护老年人日常生活能力的首要选择。
