# Ballet dancers show distinct brain responses to other people's facial emotions

Source: [Medical Xpress - latest medical and health news stories](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-ballet-dancers-distinct-brain-responses.html) · 2026-11-11 · Medicine
Page: https://themorning.science/story/ballet-dancers-show-distinct-brain-responses-to-other-people-s-facial-emotions-e8c06c9caa685572
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In brief

- A study from City St George's, University of London, links ballet training to distinct brain responses to others' facial emotions.
- Ballet dancers viewing photos of fearful, happy and other facial expressions showed different brain responses than non-dancers, according to reports on the research.
- The findings suggest dance training may shape emotional perception beyond movement.

## Why it matters

It adds evidence that specialised motor training can change how the brain processes social and emotional cues, which matters for research on neuroplasticity and embodied cognition.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-12: Research on ballet dancers' brain responses to facial emotions reported by Medical Xpress and Earth.com

## Coverage

- [Dancing may shape how the brain responds to other people’s emotions](https://www.earth.com/science/ballet-training-may-shape-how-the-brain-responds-to-other-peoples-emotions/) — Earth.com, 2026-11-12
- [Ballet dancers show distinct brain responses to other people's facial emotions](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-ballet-dancers-distinct-brain-responses.html) — Medical Xpress - latest medical and health news stories, 2026-11-11

Tags: neuroscience, ballet, facial expressions, emotion perception, brain imaging, dance training

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science