The brain mechanisms behind our desire to dance

Why does some music make us want to dance more than others? This is the question that a research team from Inserm and Aix-Marseille Université tried to answer by studying the desire to dance (also called the 'groove') and the brain activity of 30 participants who were asked to listen to music. Their findings show that the groove sensation is highest for a moderately complex rhythm and that the desire to move is reflected in the brain by an anticipation of the music's rhythm. This research, to be published in Science Advances also designates the left sensorimotor cortex as being the centre of coordination between the auditory and motor systems. Dancing means action. But to dance to the sound of a melody, you still have to coordinate your actions with the rhythm of the music. Previous studies have already shown that the motor system (consisting of the motor cortex and all the brain structures and nerve pathways which, under its control, participate in the execution of movement) plays a crucial role in the brain's processing of musical rhythms. 'Groove' is the spontaneous desire to dance to music.