Effects of dance experience on working memory: Visuospatial skills

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between dance experience and visuospatial working memory in young adults. The study included 74 participants (M = 23.3, SD = 1.72) divided into four groups based on their level of expertise in dance training. Among these groups, 54 participants were selected from dance classes who were dancing between at least 3 months, while the remaining 20 participants had no prior engagement in dance activities. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was employed as a measure of participants' cognitive abilities to ensure their suitability for the study. The Corsi Block Tapping Test was utilized to assess their visuospatial working memory capacity. All participants completed the demographic questions, Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, MOCA and computerized version of Corsi Block Tapping Test. The first hypothesis suggesting that individuals in the dancing groups would exhibit enhanced visuospatial working memory abilities compared to those who did not engage in any dance practice was partially supported due to only expert dancers' enhanced performance on the Corsi Block Tapping Test. The second hypothesis suggesting that participants with three or more years of dance experience would display the highest visuospatial skills compared to those with either three months or no dance experience at all was fully supported because expert dancers demonstrated the highest performance in the visuospatial working memory task compared to all other participants. Given the limited research on the impact of dance experience on executive functions, this study offered a focused examination of visuospatial skills among young adults. Keywords: Dance Experience, Working Memory, Visuospatial Skills