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PubMedDate not supplied

Episodic encoding in normal aging: attentional resources hypothesis extended to musical material.

The goal of the present study was to examine age-related changes in musical episodic memory for novel tunes. This was conducted by manipulating the encoding condition in a recognition paradigm. After receiving memory instructions (intentional condition), older and younger participants obtained equivalent hits. In contrast, when intentional encoding was accompanied by a dancing judgment (dancing + intentional condition), the recognition performance of the older persons was severely impaired. Impaired recognition was also found when participants only judged the excerpts without being instructed to memorize them (dancing judgment condition). Although older participants demonstrated a preserved ability to perform the dancing judgment on its own, this ability was not optimal and likely precluded the initiation of more elaborate encoding strategies. These results suggest that asking older persons to divide their attention in the study phase reduces the quality of their musical encoding. Given this extension to musical material, we discuss the notion that the age-related attentional resource decline appears to be domain-general rather than specific to verbal material.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

The quarterly review of biology.

In recent years, the evidence suggesting that honey bees communicate with a "dance language" has been stronly attached on both theoretical and experimental grounds. An alternative theory has been proposed by which bees are supposed to use only odors to locate sources of food. A review of the evolution of the controversy isolates and analyzes the main issues. Early experiments which she fundamental problem in this important dispute has been that dancing bees advertise a food location with site-specific odoer information as well as symbolic distance and direction coordinates. A new technique has overcome this problem and demonstrated that von Frisch's dance language theory is, on the whole, correct. The apparently contradictory results of Wenner and his colleagues are shown to be due to their techniques for training bees. The dance-language controversy raises issues beyond how bees communicate. These include whether and when "evolutionary" arguments are useful, and to what extent Kuhn's scientific revolution paradign fits the dispute.

Animal Communication↗

PubMed2003

Evidence of an association among age-related changes in physical, psychomotor and autonomic function.

BACKGROUND: autonomic modulation of the heart, as measured by heart rate variability, is directly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and inversely associated with all-cause mortality. The extent to which cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate variability are related in older adults is difficult to ascertain due to difficulties in assessing physical fitness among older age groups. OBJECTIVE: to examine heart rate variability and measures of physical function, thereby allowing for the inclusion of a greater cross-section of older adults than can be tested using traditional fitness tests. METHODS: 39 older adults (mean age: 73.2+/-8.1 years; range=60-93 years) underwent evaluation of short-term (5 min) heart rate variability and performance of the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance Functional Fitness Assessment for Older Adults. Pearson correlation, stepwise multiple regression, and factor analysis were used to describe associations among age, heart rate variability, and functional fitness test-items. RESULTS: significant associations were observed for age and the standard deviation of all normal RR intervals (r=-0.39, P<0.01), and the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance cardiovascular endurance (r=0.45, P<0.01), strength (r=-0.53, P<0.001), agility (r=0.80, P<0.001), and coordination (r=0.57, P<0.001) items. Standard deviation of all normal RR intervals was negatively associated with the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance agility (r=-0.37, P<0.01) and coordination (r=-0.49, P<0.001) items. Stepwise multiple regression included only the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance coordination performance in predicting standard deviation of all normal RR intervals [standard deviation=63.98-2.5 (coordination), F=33.9, P<0.01]. Factor analysis revealed that age, agility, and coordination comprised one factor with a high degree of commonality. CONCLUSION: the association between heart rate variability and coordination suggests concurrent aging of autonomic and psychomotor function.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

Learning and memory in the honeybee.

Insects are favorable subjects for neuroethological studies. Their nervous systems are relatively small and contain many individually identifiable cells. The CNS is highly compartmentalized with clear separations between multisensory higher order neuropiles in the brain and neuropiles serving sensory-motor routines in the ventral cord (Huber, 1974). The rich behavior of insects includes orientation in space and time, visual, chemical, and mechanical communication, and complex motor routines for flying, walking, swimming, nest building, defense, and attack. Learning and memory, though, are not usually considered to be a strong point of insects. Rather, insect behavior is often regarded as highly stereotyped and under tight control of genetically programmed neural circuits. This view, however, does not do justice to the insect order of Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants). Most Hymenopteran species care for their brood either as individual females or as a social group of females. Consequently, they regularly return to their nest site to feed, protect, and nurse the larvae, store food, and hide from adverse environmental conditions. Since they search for food (prey; nectar and pollen on flowers) at unpredictable sites, they have to learn the celestial and terrestrial cues that guide their foraging trips over long distances and allow them to find their nest sites (central place foraging; von Frisch, 1967; Seeley, 1985). They learn to relate the sun's position and sky pattern of polarized light to the time of the day (Lindauer, 1959), and landmarks are learned in relationship to the nest site within the framework of the time-compensated sun compass. The honeybee communicates direction and distance of a feeding place to hive mates by performing a ritualized body movement, the waggle dance (von Frisch, 1967). Associative learning is an essential component of the bee's central place foraging behavior and dance communication. Hive mates attending a dance performance learn the odor emanating from the dancing bee and seek it at the indicated food site. The odor, color, and shape of flowers are learned when the bee experiences these stimuli shortly before it finds food (nectar, pollen). This appetitive learning in bees has many characteristics of associative learning well known from mammalian learning studies (Menzel, 1985, 1990; Bitterman, 1988). It follows the rules of classical and operant conditioning, respectively, so that stimuli or behavioral acts are associated with evaluating stimuli. Since associative learning, especially of the classical type, is well described at the phenomenological and operational level (Rescorla, 1988), it provides a favorable approach in the search for the neural substrate underlying learning and memory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1984

The effects of exercise on the bones of postmenopausal women.

The effects of walking and aerobic dancing on the bones of 73 recently postmenopausal women have been compared by photon absorptiometry of the distal radius with a control group who did not exercise. The period of observation was six months. Results showed that the control group and the walking group lost statistically significant amounts of bone mineral content (1.6%, and 1.7% respectively), but that the dancing group did not (0.8%). The control group did not show a significant increase in the bone width (0.9%), but both the dancing (1.3%) and walking (1.6%) groups did. Changes in the cross-sectional moment of inertia of the radius were estimated for each subject based on bone mineral content and bone width values. Both exercise groups experienced significant increases in this variable, while the control group did not. Plasma oestrogen levels were not influenced by exercise. The results support the hypothesis that mechanical loading due to exercise may be effective in preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

PubMed1987

Tumor of the back in a break dancer.

Break dancing is a form of recreation that may result in minor and major trauma among participants. A case is presented of an adolescent who developed an unusual swelling on his back after persistent vigorous involvement in break dancing. Resolution of the tumor occurred after several months of avoiding the activity. Other injuries caused by break dancing are reviewed, and preventive measures are discussed.

Athletic Injuries↗

PubMed1986

Doors and thresholds: Jeddi's approach to psychiatric disorders.

Professor Essedik Jeddi and his team have introduced a most significant institutional and therapeutic innovation at the Ibn Rochd and Pinel section of the Razi university long-term mental hospital in Tunis (Tunisia). The innovation focuses upon the ambiguity of doors and boundaries in the mental asylum. Doors and walls influence the rhythm of activity and the nature of contact between patients, therapists and the wider society and culture. If they are very rigid, they may disjoin the patient from him- or herself, from his/her body, social network and culture. On the other hand, if such boundaries are completely neglected they may merge these related dimensions as undifferentiated entities. Jeddi's innovation is primarily concerned with placing the spatio-temporal experience of the body and the intimate interpersonal interaction at the centre of treatment. It aims at establishing creative modes of expression, interaction and exchange such as tea-sessions, dancing, singing, verbal communication, clay-modelling, figurative or plastic expression, agricultural works. These relationships mediate and differentiate at the same time between the patient, his/her body-self, and his/her social and cultural world, thus avoiding both the disjunction and the merging. It would seem that the activities concerned with the distinction between 'inside' and 'outside', peasant and urban, self and other (e.g. dancing and singing) are of paramount importance in bringing about such mediating and differentiating relationships. In the present study we limit ourselves to one particularly revealing therapeutic activity, namely dancing to live music. Jeddi's innovation is a unique blend of current developments in psychiatry and psychotherapy with Arabo-Islamic science and philosophy.

Cultural Characteristics↗

PubMed2002

Self-reported hamstring injuries in student-dancers.

Dancing involves powerful movements as well as flexibility exercises, both of which may be related to specific injuries to the musculo-tendinosus tissue, e.g., the hamstring muscle complex. In this study, the occurrence of acute and overuse injuries to the rear thigh in dancers was investigated retrospectively by means of a questionnaire. All but one (n = 98) of the student-dancers (age 17-25 years) at the Ballet Academy in Stockholm participated. The results demonstrated that, during the past 10 years, every third dancer (34%) reported that they had acute injuries and every sixth dancer (17%) had overuse injuries to the rear thigh. Most (91%) of the acute injuries were subjectively located to an area close to tuber ischiadicum. The majority (88%) stated that the acute injury occurred during slow activities in flexibility training, e.g., splits, and only a few (12%) in powerful movements. Continuing problems were reported by 70% of the acutely injured dancers. Many of the dancers neglected their acute injury (14 did not even stop the ongoing dance activity) and they also greatly underestimated the recovery time. Only 4 dancers (12%) received acute medical assistance. Thus the results, based on the recollection of the subjects, indicated that stretching could induce severe strain injuries to the proximal hamstrings in dancers. Extrapolating these results to the practice, it can be recommended that stretching exercises be executed with caution in connection with dancing sessions and training, and that, information about the seriousness and acute treatment of such injuries be added to the student-dancers' curriculum.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1999

The effects of rest and subsequent training on selected physiological parameters in professional female classical dancers.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a six-week summer break and of dance preparations at the beginning of the new season following the break, on selected physiological parameters. Seventeen professional ballerinas (mean age 27.2 +/- 1.4 years, mean height 160.2 +/- 6.2 cm) volunteered. They were assessed just before and immediately after their normal summer break, during which very little or no physical work was reported. Eight of these dancers were assessed for a third time, 2-3 months after the end of the break, while they were into preparing for the new season. More specifically, compared to pre-break data, the six-weeks of holiday was followed by a 15% overall increase in the three flexibility tests (from 334 to 386 degrees, P < 0.01), a 14% increase in peak anaerobic power (from 350 to 400 watts; P < 0.01), a 16% increase in leg strength (from 143 to 166 Nm; P < 0.01) (i.e. the mean performance of left and right knee extension added to the mean performance of left and right knee flexion), and a 10% increase in VO2max (from 41.2 to 45.2 ml/kg/min; P < 0.05). The third set of data, 2-3 months after the end of the break, revealed further significant increases by 24% in leg-strength (P < 0.005) and 17% in VO2max (P < 0.01) compared to pre-holiday data. Despite the lack of a control group, the present results fit with the hypothesis of a degree of "burnout" at the end of the season, which negatively affected the mechanisms of fitness and conditioning. A six-week summer-break can act as a restorer of these mechanisms. Two to three months into the new season, positive adaptations to exercise appeared to confirm recovery from the "burnout" or overtraining phenomenon. More research is required on the effects of demanding dance schedules on fitness and conditioning, and how such schedules might adversely affect dance performance and dancers' careers.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Reduced ultrasound velocity in tibial bone of young ballet dancers.

Young ballet dancers are at risk both for osteopenia, due to low body weight, inadequate nutrition and gonadal dysfunction, as well as for lower limbs stress fractures. However, a direct relationship between stress fractures and bone mass in dancers could not be demonstrated, raising the possibility that qualitative aspects of bone, such as elasticity, may be adversely affected in the dancers. To test this hypothesis, speed of sound, a physical parameter that reflects both quantitative and qualitative properties of bone, was determined at the tibial bone of 27 dance students and 27 non-dance students. The results were compared to bone mineral density at the tibia and the lumbar spine, measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. All three bone measurements were lower in the dance group, but the difference was statistically significant only for the tibial speed of sound. The role of tibial speed of sound measurement in assessing bone status in athletes warrants further exploration.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMed2004

Physical activities and sedentary pursuits in African American and Caucasian girls.

The purposes of this study were to describe and compare the specific physical activity choices and sedentary pursuits of African American and Caucasian American girls. Participants were 1,124 African American and 1,068 Caucasian American eighth-grade students from 31 middle schools. The 3-Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR) was used to measure participation in physical activities and sedentary pursuits. The most frequently reported physical activities were walking, basketball, jogging or running, bicycling, and social dancing. Differences between groups were found in 11 physical activities and 3 sedentary pursuits. Participation rates were higher in African American girls (p < or = .001) for social dancing, basketball, watching television, and church attendance but lower in calisthenics, ballet and other dance, jogging or running, rollerblading, soccer, softball or baseball, using an exercise machine, swimming, and homework. Cultural differences of groups should be considered when planning interventions to promote physical activity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Electromyographic analysis of grand-plié in ballet and modern dancers.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to describe lower extremity muscle activity in grand-plié, as determined by EMG analysis; to compare and contrast muscle function in grand-plié and demi-plié to support the hypothesis that grand-plié is not simply a deeper demi-plié, but rather a fundamentally different movement in terms of muscle use; and to present further evidence in support of the hypothesis that ballet dancers use muscles differently than modern dancers in dance movement. METHODS: Surface electromyography was used to analyze lower extremity muscle activity during grand-plié in first position with lower extremities turned out in five ballet and seven modern female professional dancers. RESULTS: Electromyographic (EMG) activity of tibialis anterior included continuous activity from heel-off during the lowering phase, through midcycle, and ending at heel-on during the rising phase in all grand-pliés; the majority of tibialis anterior EMG tracings in ballet dancers had additional activity at the end of the rising phase. All EMG tracings for vastus lateralis and medialis included a peak of activity during the lowering phase, a decrease (valley) at midcycle, followed by another peak during the rising phase; increased activity at the end of the rising phase was observed in most grand-plié in ballet, and not modern, dancers. Adductor EMG activity was also observed in all tracings with a peak during the lowering phase from heel-off to midcycle, a valley at midcycle, followed by a peak of activity in early rising phase; the midcycle valley was of lower, and the rising phase peak of higher, activity in ballet compared with modern dancers. Variation of EMG patterns was observed for lateral and medial gastrocnemius, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the concept that lower extremity muscle activity in dance movement is comprised of three major types: (a) unique, characteristic activity required for the execution of the movement; (b) varied activity which is characteristic of dancers of different dance idioms; and (c) varied activity which may depend on factors such as balance, personal habit, and individual training background. Furthermore, EMG activity of vastus lateralis and medialis at the midcycle valley in grand-plié was significantly less in ballet dancers than in modern dancers despite similar degree of knee flexion, suggesting that ballet dancers may have lower patellofemoral joint reaction force at midcycle than modern dancers.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

Cognitive and mobility profile of older social dancers.

OBJECTIVES: To define the cognitive and physical attributes of regular social dancing so as to help establish its health benefits and help plan future dance interventions to prevent adverse outcomes in older adults such as falls, slow gait, and dementia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with two-group comparison. SETTING: Bronx County, New York. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four cognitively normal older social dancers (OSDs) were compared with 84 age-, sex-, and education-matched older nondancers (ONDs) participating in a community-based study. MEASUREMENTS: Motor and cognitive performance was assessed using validated clinical and quantitative methods. RESULTS: There were no differences in the frequency of participation in other cognitive and physical leisure activities, chronic illnesses, or falls between OSDs and ONDs. Cognitive test performance was not different between OSDs and ONDs. OSDs had better balance but not strength than ONDs. OSDs had a longer mean stride+/-standard deviation than ONDs (117.8+/-10.5 cm vs 103.4+/-20.2 cm, P=.008) on quantitative gait assessment, with a more stable pattern during walking with reduced stance time (63.9% vs 65.9%, P=.01), longer swing time (36.1% vs 34.1%, P=.01), and shorter double support time (27.9% vs 30.9%, P=.03). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that long-term social dancing may be associated with better balance and gait in older adults.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A look at nursing leadership through the lens of a dancer.

TOPIC: Using the world of dance to describe leadership dimensions. PURPOSE: To explore the art of nursing leadership from the perspective of dance, a form of artistry through movement. SOURCES: Published literature and the author's own experience. CONCLUSIONS: The metaphors of dance bring the concept to life in a new way.

Dancing↗

PubMed1997

Bone mineral density in professional female dancers.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the long term effects of dance training and the contribution of the timing and duration of any menstrual disruption on bone mineral density (BMD). DESIGN: Measurement of BMD in 57 premenopausal, previously professionally dance trained women and the relationship to menstrual and training history. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Bone density measurements at lumbar spine and femoral neck by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: The average Z score for BMD at the lumbar spine in the amenorrhoeic dancers was significantly below that for the normal population. The average Z score for BMD at the femoral neck in the eumenorrhoeic dancers was significantly above that for the normal population. There was a significant difference between the average Z score for BMD at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck between the amenorrhoeic and eumenorrhoeic dancers. Significant negative relationships were found between BMD at the lumbar spine and (1) age at menarche, (2) duration of amenorrhoea, (3) BMD at the femoral neck, and (4) the variable of ideal minus lowest weight, which was independent of amenorrhoea. No significant relationships were found between duration of oral contraceptive pill usage and BMD at either the lumbar spine or the femoral neck in eumenorrhoeic or amenorrhoeic dancers. In order to quantify the effect of a combination of these significant factors, a model of BMD was constructed using multiple regression incorporating the variables duration of amenorrhoea, age at menarche, and ideal minus lowest body weight. In this model R2 was 33.6%, in other words 33.6% of the total variation in the Z score for BMD at the lumbar spine could be accounted for by these factors. CONCLUSION: Professional female dancers with a history of delayed menarche and amenorrhoea have been identified as another group of premenopausal women potentially at risk of developing osteoporosis because of a decrease in BMD at the lumbar spine. The femoral neck in dancers with a history of amenorrhoea was partially protected from loss of BMD by virtue of being the major weight bearing site in previous dance training, and in eumenorrhoeic dancers BMD was significantly increased at this site.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMed2005

Range of joint movement in female dancers and nondancers aged 8 to 16 years: anatomical and clinical implications.

BACKGROUND: Little data are available on changes that occur with age in joint range of motion in dancers and nondancers. HYPOTHESIS: In dancers, joint range of motion will increase with age, whereas it will decrease in nondancers, independent of the joint studied. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: The study population included 1320 female dancers, aged 8 to 16 years, who participated in different types of dancing classes (classical ballet, modern dance, jazz, etc) and 226 nondancers of similar age. Range of motion was measured for the hip, knee, ankle, foot, and spinal joints. RESULTS: The pattern of differences in range of motion with age varied in different joints and types of movement. (1) For combined ankle and foot plantar flexion (pointe), ankle plantar flexion, and hip external rotation, there was no change in range of motion in dancers, whereas range of motion diminished with age in the nondancers. (2) For ankle dorsiflexion, neither group showed any change with age, and range of motion was significantly greater in the nondancer group. (3) For knee flexion, hip flexion, and hip internal rotation, range of motion decreased with age in both groups. (4) For hip abduction, range of motion decreased with age in dancers and remained constant in the nondancers. (5) For hip extension, range of motion increased in both groups. (6) For lower back and hamstrings, range of motion increased among dancers with age and remained constant among nondancers. CONCLUSION: Dancers and teachers should realize that passive joint range of motion is unlikely to improve with age. Therefore, the major goal of a dancing program should focus on exercises that retain the natural flexibility of the dancers' joints rather than trying to improve them.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Talar compression syndrome.

Ballet dancers frequently stand on the tips of their toes in the en pointe and demi pointe positions, resulting in compression of the posterior structures of the ankle during repeated plantar flexion of the foot, producing the talar compression syndrome. This mechanism may result in posterior block or impingement of an os trigonum or Stieda's process. When the dancer attempts to force the foot into plantar flexion, the os trigonum or the Stieda's process may be impinged between the calcaneus and the posterior edge of the tibia. Pain and tenderness are localized at the posterolateral aspect of the ankle behind the peroneal tendons. In nondancing members of the population, these conditions are usually asymptomatic. It is the requirement of the classical dance for a well-pointed foot that produces symptoms. We are reporting up to 7 years' followup of six professional ballet dancers in whom we removed the os trigonum for symptomatic talar compression syndrome, caused by the trauma of the en pointe position of toe dancing. Two patients had bilateral operations. All six patients returned to professional dancing within a few months and remained asymptomatic. The anatomy of this condition is reviewed, as well as the diagnosis and treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Articular mobility in ballet dancers. A follow-up study after four years.

A follow-up study of ballet dancers was conducted to determine the influence of 4 years additional training on articular mobility using Beighton's method. The score increased in 25 (45.5%) of the 55 dancers reexamined. Acquired forward flexion accounted for this increase in 21 (84%) of the 25 dancers. These 21 dancers had had significantly less training than had the 30 dancers who could forward flex when examined initially (P less than 0.0001), showing that forward flexion is acquired through training. There were significantly more hypermobile individuals among dancers who had continued dancing than among those who had stopped (P less than 0.03). However, only 2 (16.7%) of 12 dancers who had progressed in their careers were hypermobile. We conclude that 1) most ballet dancers are able to forward flex, 2) forward flexion is usually acquired and develops after 4 or more years of training, 3) the mobility score may assist in predicting who will continue dancing, but that 4) there is no association between hypermobility and dancing excellence.

Adolescent↗