"Where Attention Goes, Neural Firing Flows"

• Can Mime help build an intentional practice for people with Parkinson's?

Intentional focus is not just a mental exercise, it can also be a whole body, physically engaging approach to empower people with Parkinson's develop ways to manage symptoms of the disease.

The quote in the title above is from Dr. Dan Siegal, a psychiatrist at the forefront of understanding how neuroplasticity, the brain's capacity to adapt throughout life, can help rewire the brain. Neuroplasticity reminds us that the brain is not a fixed machine, but a living landscape capable of growth and renewal. What we focus on, we strengthen. What we imagine, we can begin to embody.

In Parkinson's disease, the basal ganglia- deep structures in the brain that coordinate smooth, automatic movement, are affected by a loss of dopamine producing cells. This can lead to slowness, rigidity, tremors and difficulty initiating movement. Yet, the brain is not limited to one road for movement. Through focused attention, other brain regions, like the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, can help assume some of the functions once handled by the basal ganglia.

For instance, the hippocampus, traditionally known for its role in learning and memory, also contributes to spatial navigation and sequencing. When practicing mime, we engage these very processes, imagining space, timing a sequence, and linking gestures. By calling on the hippocampus to participate in planning movement, the brain may begin to build alternative pathways for motor control. These new connections don't replace the basal ganglia's automatic efficiency, though they can perhaps bypass or support it, allowing for smoother, more intentional motion.

Mime is an ideal art form for this neuroplastic work because it requires complete attention on the task at hand- physical, cognitive and emotional investment. The mime must visualize the invisable and sense the subtle, eg the weight of an imaginary ball, the resistance of wind, the tension of pulling on an unseen rope. Such mental imagery activates not only motor areas but also the sensory (parietal lobe) and emotional (amygdala) circuits which give movement meaning. Each gesture becomes a rehearsal for the brain, strengthening pathways that integrate feeling with intention. With therapeutic mime, the person with Parkinson's can skillfully develop an awareness of their movements through space.

For people with Parkinson's this approach has the potential to transform movement into something more expressive. Instead of forcing the body to move, participants sense the invitation to move through story, visualizaton and imagination. The act of embodying a simple mime gesture- pouring tea, opening a door, greeting a friend- can stimulate coordination, rhythm, balance and expressivity. It may help shift movement back from the realm of effort into the infinite possibilities of artistry.

Beyond physical benefit, mime can nourish a sense of identity and creativity that Parkinson's sometimes masks. It reconnects participants with curiosity and play, the very qualities that most readily activate neuroplastic activity. When attention, imagination and movement intertwine, the whole brain participates in learning. Over time, these mindful, expressive moments can build into something profound: new patterns of connection and confidence.

There is much learning still to be done in this vast universe of how art forms, like mime and dance, can influence our brain's capacity for change. I don't pretend to grasp more than a spec of it. While the biology is important and interesting, what I'm most keen to explore is how the imagery mime asks our minds to tap into, can best support my students with Parkinson's with their day to day activities- all while having a jolly time doing so!

• Photo below from a recent (September 2025) training I assisted my teacher, Barbara Salsberg Mathews, with -teaching Dancing With Parkinson's (DWP) instructors how to weave mime into their DWP classes. Photo-Celeste Cole, for event sponsored by Parkinson Canada

Barbara's website and videos can be found here-https://mimeovermind.com