How the brain perceives dancing

Scientists have enlisted the help of a professional dancer to better understand how our brains process movement and how we learn by observation.

The Bangor University team, lead by Dr Emily Cross, brought in dancer Riley Watts to help with the research in the relatively new field of neuroaesthetics, which looks at the neural underpinnings of how the brain perceives artistic endeavours.

Over the next few months Dr Cross plans to carry out further brain scans of amateur dancers and non-dancers while they watch the video footage she recorded of Mr Watts.