Ask the Elders: Views about the Arts-in-Health

Ask the Elders: Views about the Arts-in-Health

Two recent articles regarding arts-in-health: the Jameel Arts and Health Lab report on the health benefits of the arts [1], and Clift et al. suggesting caution while interpreting these results [2] - gave me food for thought. When two eminent groups of researchers report on what seems to be the same topic and reach strongly differing conclusions, it raises the possibility that the question has not been framed well. For insights into how these differing perspectives might be harmonized, I suggest we expand our understanding of the interaction of arts and health to include learnings not only from the scientific and clinical sides of the question but also from practitioners of the arts. Though they do not come from laboratory, research, or clinical settings, we have thousands of years of insights into how the arts interact with personal health. I suggest that the learnings of the past, as embodied in the traditions and practices of experienced teachers of the present, could be a very fruitful source of insights that would help us reconcile and unite seemingly opposing points of view and move the field of arts-in-health forward.

My comment is from the perspective of a neuroscientist and practitioner of a traditional Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam - a 2,000-year-old art form. I have been a practitioner of Bharatanatyam for more than 30 years having started my journey in my hometown of Ahmedabad, India. In New York City now, I continue my training from my gurus in dance, Carnatic music, and language, and use Bharatanatyam for creative aging [3-5]. My field of expertise in neuroscience is synaptic plasticity in temporal lobe epilepsy [6]; and I share my love of science at The American Museum of Natural History by teaching educators neuroscience, evolution, genetics, and marine biology.

Current practitioners and teachers in the arts might constitute a potentially abundant and untapped resource on how the field of arts-in-health might be developed. For example, while my gurus do not have certifications in dance, or accreditation in medical care or the sciences, they have many decades of experience with, and insight into, the practice of the arts, and how that practice impacts personal health and well-being. Their expertise is guided by and adds to the wealth of information that came before them. The Clift et al. article 2 includes a review of a randomized controlled trial investigating the benefit of dance-movement therapy in adolescent girls [7]. This paper correctly reports several methodological flaws, including the lack of a clear rationale, issues with randomization, and the control condition [7]. Not included are any details or inquiries if any elder practitioners in the field of dance were consulted before designing, conducting, or evaluating the studies. The paper also mentions future steps in the field such as ensuring replication of data, and an interdisciplinary team to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses. I suggest that we add to this list, a summary of how input from elder practitioners was gathered.
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Where do we find these elders though? They have no interest in publishing in peer-reviewed journals or speaking at international venues. Instead, they are actively and quietly studying and teaching for decades, very often, as a generational vocation; they are continuing the work of their ancestors and adding to their legacy. This poses an exciting challenge for the scientific and research communities – how can we use our scientific knowledge to listen to and learn from our elders and teachers in respectful ways, that amplify their work, and not supplant or diminish it? How do we communicate our findings back to them in ways that can enrich what they do? For scientists, this approach is not new. To contribute to a field, we read books and articles on the topic, consult those who have worked and published before us, and actively add to the body of knowledge. An analogous approach, where researchers learn from those who came before them would be a good place to start to understand and describe the benefit of the arts-in-health.   

Literature cited:

1. Sajnani N, Fietje N. The Jameel Arts &amp; Health Lab in collaboration with the WHO&#x2013;<em>Lancet</em> Global Series on the Health Benefits of the Arts. The Lancet 2023; 402(10414): 1732-4.
2. Clift S, Bathke A, Daffern H, et al. WHO-Lancet Global Series on health and the arts. Lancet 2024; 403(10434): 1335.
3. Iyengar S. The Use of Hand Gestures (Hastas) in Bharatanatyam for Creative Aging. J Med Humanit 2024.
4. Iyengar S. Facilitating adaptive movement in older adults through Bharatanatyam. Perspect Public Health 2024; 144(5): 282-4.
5. Iyengar S. Indian Dance (Bharatanatyam) to Ease Social Loneliness and Isolation in Older Adults. Critical Public Health.
6. Iyengar SS, LaFrancois JJ, Friedman D, et al. Suppression of adult neurogenesis increases the acute effects of kainic acid. Exp Neurol 2015; 264: 135-49.
7. Grebosz-Haring K, Thun-Hohenstein L, Schuchter-Wiegand AK, Bathke AC, Clift S. The need for robust critique of arts and health research: Dance-movement therapy, girls, and depression. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1525(1): 128-39.