Objective: A study was conducted to determine the effect of a Music-based-Movement (MbM) program on the physical and cognitive domains of a group of people with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) administered within a dance space in Cuenca-Ecuador. PwP were direct participants in the intervention. The intervention aimed to address change in motor and cognitive symptoms.

Background: Medical research highlights the depletion of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain the cause of imbalance and risk of falling. In different parts of the world, MdM similar studies have been executed with successful results.

Method: Diagnosed PwP were chosen for the study if they could stand for 30 minutes and were categorized as Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) stages 1-3. The MbM program, consisting of 48 sessions lasting two hours each throughout a six-month duration. A certified specialist in clinical Biodanza for Parkinson’s disease led the MbM intervention.

A quantitative design protocol evaluated motor and executive function outcomes in a single- uncontrolled group of eleven individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (M=6, F=5).  Screening and motor symptoms were assessed by a neurologist with the UPDRS and BBS scales. Executive function was evaluated via selected subtests of the Batería Neuropsicológica de Funciones Ejecutivas-2 (BANFE-2). Two researchers (with one serving as the primary investigator) carried out all cognitive pre post evaluations.

Outcome’s evaluation used quantitative data analysis including frequency distributions, means and if parametric assumptions were met, t-Tests in SPSS were conducted. The study was approved by the “Comité de Investigación en Seres Humanos” from Universidad del Azuay No.5.3.2023.1.

Results: An improvement inhibitory control (p=0.03) and visuospatial working memory (p=0.048) were found. Statistically significant enhancements were observed in balance (p=0.0133) / BBS and motor performance, specifically gait (p=0.0129) / UPDRS III.

Conclusion: The MbM intervention, grounded in Activity Theory (Leontiev & Hall, 1978) and embodiment (Shapiro & Spaulding, 2024) could have had a favorable effect on plasticity (Teixeira-Machado et al., 2019) potentially complementing pharmacological treatments and improving PwP’s quality of life.

This study was presented as a poster at the XVIII Congreso de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Neuropsicología in November 2025.

Method and intervention

Action-oriented base by stages

Executive Functions experimental group results

Statistics of analyzed variables

Results Summary

References: Bearss, K. A., & Desouza, J. F. X. (2021). Parkinson’s disease motor symptom progression slowed with multisensory dance learning over 3-years: A preliminary longitudinal investigation. Brain Sciences, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11070895
Bek, J., Arakaki, A. I., Lawrence, A., Sullivan, M., Ganapathy, G., & Poliakoff, E. (2020). Dance and Parkinson’s: A review and exploration of the role of cognitive representations of action. In Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (Vol. 109, pp. 16–28). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.023
Leontiev, A. N., & Hall, M. J. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality.
Shapiro, L., & Spaulding, S. (2024). ‘Embodied Cognition’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Summer 2024 Edition. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/embodied-cognition/
Teixeira-Machado, L., Arida, R. M., & de Jesus Mari, J. (2019). Dance for neuroplasticity: A descriptive systematic review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 96, 232–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.010
Vannini, C., & Bongioanni, P. (2014, February). Effetti della Biodanza sulla funzionalità dei Parkinsoniani. PisaMedica. https://pisamedica.it/?p=5683

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/positive-post-intervention-effect-of-biodanza-therapy-on-inhibitory-control-related-to-the-orbitomedial-prefrontal-cortex/