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Dancers Are Genetically Different Than the Rest
of Us
What makes
dancers different than the rest of us? Genetic variants, says
a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In a study
published in the American journal, Public Library of
Science Genetics Prof. Richard P. Ebstein of the
Department of Psychology and his research associates have
shown, through DNA examination, that dancers show consistent
differences in two key genes from the general population.
Ebstein is the head of the Scheinfeld Center for Human
Genetics in the Social Sciences in the Department of
Psychology.
This
finding is not surprising, says Ebstein, in view of other
studies of musicians and athletes, which also have shown
genetic differences.
Ebstein and
his colleagues found in an examination of 85 dancers and
advanced dancing students in Israel variants of two genes that
provide the code for the serotonin transporter and arginine
vasopressin receptor 1a.
Both genes
are involved in the transmission of information between nerve
cells. The serotonin transporter regulates the level of
serotonin, a brain transmitter that contributes to spiritual
experience, among many other behavioral traits. The
vasopressin receptor has been shown in many animal studies to
modulate social communication and affiliative bonding
behaviors.
Both
are elements involved in the age-old human social expression
of dancing.
The genetic
evidence was corroborated by two questionnaires distributed by
the researchers to the dancers. One is the Tellegen Absorption
Scale (TAS), that correlates aspects of spirituality and
altered states of consciousness, and the other is the
Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), a measure of
the need for social contact and openness to communication.
The genetic
and questionnaire results of the dancers were compared with
those of two other groups examined – athletes as well as those
who were both non-dancers and non-athletes. (Athletes were
chosen for comparison since they require a good deal of
physical stamina like dancers.)
When the
results were combined and analyzed, it was clearly shown that
the dancers exhibited particular genetic and personality
characteristics that were not found in the other two groups.
The dancer
“type,” says Ebstein, clearly demonstrates qualities that are
not necessarily lacking but are not expressed as strongly in
other people: a heightened sense of communication, often of a
symbolic and ceremonial nature, and a strong spiritual
personality trait.
Others
involved in the research with Ebstein were his Ph.D. student
Rachel Bachner-Melman, as well as additional researchers from
Israel and France.
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