A study has found important differences in ballet dancers’ brain structures that stop them from feeling dizzy while spinning. Dr Barry Seemungal, the neurologist who led the research, explained to the Today programme that it was a “training-based phenomenon”.

Article from BBC.

Researchers at the Imperial College London say they’ve discovered differences in the ballet dancers’ brain structure that help them suppress that dizzy feeling. They say their ballet brain study could lead to new therapies to help the one in four people, researchers claim, who suffer from chronic dizziness.

“[The ballet dancer’s] brain adapts over years of training to suppress that input [of dizziness],” says Dr. Barry Seemungal, who lead the research. The study also indicated the more experienced the dancer, the smaller that area of the brain. Seemungal says if science can target that same brain area or monitor it in patients with chronic dizziness, researchers can begin to understand how to treat those patients better.

Complete article at CBS News.