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. 2022 Apr;17(2):95-100.
doi: 10.1016/j.joto.2022.01.003. Epub 2022 Jan 25.

Evaluation of auditory working memory in Bharatanatyam dancers

Praveen Prakash  1 , Anjana M Nath  2 , Mereena Joy  2 , Prashanth Prabhu  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of auditory working memory in Bharatanatyam dancers

Praveen Prakash et al. J Otol. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Neuroplasticity is a phenomenon exhibited by our nervous system as an indicator of overall development and in response to training, injury/loss of particular function, treatment/drugs and as a result of stimulation from the surrounding environment.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to assess the auditory working memory capacities in Bharatanatyam dancers.

Method: The participants comprised fifty-four females with normal hearing sensitivity who belonged to two groups. Group-I consisted of 27 individuals who underwent formal training in Bharatanatyam for a minimum period of three years. Group-II consisted of the age-matched control group, consisting of 27 individuals who were non-dancers. The auditory working memory tasks included arranging the English digits presented binaurally in forward, backward, ascending, and descending spans. The maximum values (for the length of sequence arranged), midpoint values (average score), and response time for each task were noted down and compared among groups.

Results: The scores were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test, which revealed enhanced working memory exhibited by dancers for maximum values and midpoint scores for all three tasks except ascending span. It was also noted that the dancers exhibited a shorter response time compared to non-dancers for all the tasks except ascending span.

Conclusion: The current study highlights an enhanced auditory working memory capacity in Bharatanatyam dancers, which could be perceived as evidence of neuroplastic changes induced in the auditory and motor cortex as a consequence of extensive stimulation for auditory processing abilities and motor planning resulting from long-term dance training and regular practice.

Keywords: Auditory processing abilities; Bharatanatyam dance; Dance training; Neuroplasticity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Nil.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 shows box and whisker plots depicting median scores, 25th and 75th percentile quartiles and maximum and minimum scores for maximum values (A), mid-points (B) and mean response time (C) obtained by dancers and non-dancers for each subtest.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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