One aspect of neuroaesthetics I found particularly interesting was the role of mirror neurons when watching dance. Mirror neurons are neurons in the brain that fire when you execute a certain act and observe someone else performing the same or a similar act. Mirror neurons are not exclusive to humans and have been researched to fire in other species like monkeys. In dancer's brains, mirror neurons play a more significant role. When dancers learn new choreography, their mirror neurons are in substantial use. They watch and imitate the movement they are seeing, which strengthens their mirror neurons. When dancers watch someone else perform in the style they are most adept with—even when the dancers themselves are still—brain regions such as the premotor, parietal, and superior temporal sulcus, were strengthened. However, when nondancers watched dance, their brains did not change very much between styles, and general levels of brain stimulation remained the same.
The reason mirror neurons are so important for us is that they facilitate learning through imitation. They strengthen the modeling processes identified by behavioral psychologists and even allow us to understand why the behavior being watched is occurring. This means that for dancers, not only does mirror neuron activity allow them to learn and pick up choreography, it also allows us to understand familiar movements on a deeper level. It is also said that through the activation of mirror neurons and motor learning regions of the brain, dancers are almost able to "embody another’s experience" and that "mirroring the dance and movement of another forces the person mirroring to embody the observed person’s experience."
Corsello, P. (2018) Mirror neurons and the role they play in Dance/Movement therapy, Medium. Available at: https://cryptopath.medium.com/mirror-neurons-and-the-role-they-play-in-dance-movement-therapy-995f4007db74 (Accessed: 16 July 2024).