Recent research at York University on dance therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease confirmed that regular participation in dance classes slows the progression of symptoms. Could it also work for brain health?

While we don’t have a definitive answer yet, it’s starting to look as if popping by a neighbour’s house and seeing if they want to go for a walk might be more helpful than any of these popular strategies people use to fortify their grey matter.

Recently, at McGill University’s Trottier Public Science Symposium, Dr. Lesley Fellows, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at McGill, made the argument for the importance of social experience and societal considerations when it comes to thinking about brain health in a lecture called “Optimizing Brain Health.”

“One of the things that’s really good for a person’s brain is interacting socially,” says Fellows. “Our brains are made for that and it really drives plasticity, since a lot of the brain is engaged with social interaction, because you have to imagine what the person is thinking and respond to their subtle cues, and that’s very dynamic.

Read more….