DaNSEC · Dance-induced Neural Synchrony for Embodied Connection

Chronic pain is a major public health challenge in the EU. Fibromyalgia (FM), a common chronic pain condition, disrupts both bodily self-consciousness and its connection to that of others (the social bodily self). No cure and complex symptomatology lead to invisible disability, alienation and social difficulties, creating an urgent need for new theoretical approaches and treatments. One of the most effective interventions is dance, although there are no specific dance training protocols for FM, and the mechanisms in dance responsible for its health benefits remain unknown. In typical adults, moving in synchrony with others triggers interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) (of movement, physiological function and brain activity), which increases bonding and reduces pain. It is unknown whether people with chronic pain experience the same INS and how this may affect their bodily self and social connectedness.Therefore, our aims are: 1) to co-design and validate a dance protocol for investigating INS in FM, and 2) to investigate the effects of social (vs individual) dance on the social bodily self in FM to reveal the role of INS in these effects. Our project is based on a participatory design and a robust experimental plan, including a randomised controlled trial. We will use functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning, physiological recording, and precise body tracking to quantify INS during dance in people with pain and pain-free controls. The key impact of DaNSEC will be new high quality knowledge, made possible by the complementary expertise of two world-class advisors in interpersonal synchrony (lead advisor) and dance (co-advisor).The results of this project will open up new avenues to explore the therapeutic potential of interpersonal synchrony for FM and other chronic pain conditions.The fellowship will complement my expertise in FM and the bodily self with knowledge of INS and dance, and will be a major step towards becoming an independent researcher.