Strengthening the Therapeutic Relationship Through Mirroring in a Dance/Movement Therapy Group for People with Alzheimer\u27s Disease: A Descriptive Study

The purpose of this research was to explore the dance/movement therapy intervention of mirroring within a Chacian modality and its effects on creating, maintaining, and deepening a therapeutic relationship between two women who are living with Alzheimer’s and the researcher/facilitator, a dance/movement therapy intern. This research project was part of an internship at an adult day center for people living with Alzheimer’s. Six, half-hour, videotaped dance/movement therapy sessions were devoted to this thesis study. The indicators, which exemplified that a therapeutic relationship was created, maintained, and deepened were changes in facial expressions and postural shifts. These indicators were noted through two forms of data collection and analysis. First, the researcher’s journal entries were written after each therapy session and were analyzed using content and conceptual analysis. Secondly, shape flow (see Appendix A), defined by Kestenberg as the growing and shrinking of the body in which expressions of feelings are communicated to self and others (Kestenberg Amighi, Loman, Lewis, & Sossin, 1999), was observed through video analysis and recorded on a movement coding sheet in response to the intervention of mirroring. Findings concluded that a relationship was created and maintained throughout the dance/movement therapy sessions as evidenced by three themes related to group cohesion, shared movement, and the expression of feelings. These themes correlated with growing shape flow as reflected in more open postures and brighter affects

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder