The Chemistry of the Inner Dance Mind

Introduction

The reason I chose to do the chemistry of the inner dance mind is because I love dance and i wanted to figure out a way to pinpoint a certain thing in dance that involves chemistry. I first chose to do the chemistry of the emotion of dance, I found a little bit of stuff to go into that for research but definitely not enough. Then I decided to change it to the chemistry of the inner dance body and i found a lot on that, however, there was so much stuff and I knew there was one thing that i had to focus on that involved chemistry, so i picked something out in my research. I picked the chemical GABA, which led me to change the name of my project to “The Chemistry of the Inner Dance Mind.” My project is mainly about the focus and the precision of a dancer, in detail of course.

My “Chemistry of…” affects my life majorly because dance the one thing I am good at and that I love. I am also very passionate when it comes to dancing, I put all my heart and soul in to each and every time I dance. I have been doing it ever since I could move and the most exciting part about my dance life is i taught myself everything I know about dancing. The style of dance I do is hip-hop. This research helped me learn quite a bit about my passion.

Composition of ...

A brain chemical called GABA is what allows the body to learn new movement
The amygdala is what control the emotions
The hippocampus is what stores long term memory

the both of those together help connect movement with emotion
- oxytocin is released during boding moments such as birth and ect.
- Dopamine generates desire such as the desire to dance and when dancing. It gives you the desire to do better and to get more into the dance by gaining more emotion and connecting with your dance in a special way.
- Endorphins is the pleasure center, things that please you like having good company or music you like or just doing something you like and having a good time.
the cortex processes senses and creates intended body movement.

Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

The main chemical is Gamma-aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA.

The main component would be the cortex because that is where abundant amounts of GABA are located, the cerebral cortex to be exact.

Chemistry's Role

GABA is the main chemical which is where chemistry comes into play. When looking into a dancers mind there is a lot of chemistry that goes on and a lot of chemicals that get involved, however, I thought that GABA was the most important because it helps the mind concentrate and gives a person the availality to learn new moves which obviously very important. GABA’s chemical formula is C4H9NO2

The molar mass is 103.20 g/m. The density is 1.11 g/mL, GABA has a white microcrystalline powder look to it. The melting points is 203.7 °C (398.7 °F; 476.8 K)and the boiling point is 247.9°C (478.2 °F; 521.0 K)

The solubility in water is 130 g/100mL.

Background Research

GABA is an amino acid that acts as a neurotransmitter and it is natural occuring.This helps the brain from getting to off track or destracted when learning new moves.

People with brains that better restrain or regulate their GABA amounts have an easier time matering new movements that are learned such as in dance sequences, piano songs, tenis strokes, and anything that invloves learning and movement.

Those with lower GABA levels have a harder time learning and grasping new moves, however with practice you will learn what you need and want to but it will take you a bit longer.GABA contributes to cortical functions such as vision as well.

You can increase your GABA levels by getting more sleep or by nutrition suplements. Although sleep helps, sleeping pills do not because it blinds the GABA and infact decreases your levels. GABA has to have certain things and things that needs to happen a certain way to be manufactured such as adequate levels of amino acid glutamine, then converted to create glutamine acid, then coverted into GABA of course.

When taking these supplements your body needs to have certain things for the supplement to accuarately work such as zinc, vitamin B6 and taurine. Some ways to naturally inrease GABA levels are:

Natural green tea
fresh citrus fruits (high in glutamine acid)
Nuts, foods high in L-theanine such as oats, and whole grains. These foods have a few benifits such as lowering stress and lowering blood sugars.
B6 and B complex-vitamins (perferably the liquid form 500 milligrams a day), it helps gain energy and produce a calming affect.
Yoga can increase GABA 27% after an hour session.

Resources

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/03March/Pages/brain-chemical-controls-learning-movement.aspx

http://swingshoes.net/blog/commentary-blog/237-your-brain-on-dance-the-brain-at-the-american-museum-of-natural-history

http://www.vitalityandwellness.com.au/low-gaba-levels

http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_01/i_01_m/i_01_m_ana/i_01_m_ana.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid

http://www.gabahghsupplement.com/increase-gaba-levels-brain

About the Author

Lela Velasquez is a junior at Billings Senior High . She loves to dance, be with her family, and to make every moment count. She also loves to do hair, nails, make-up and much more. which is what she plans to do after high school. She wants to go to cosmetology school, then go to school for business management so she can on her own salon. Her favorite season is summer and she loves to travle, mainly to warm/hot and beautiful places, perferably with a beach. She also likes to read books that relate to her and to learn new and interesting things even if she is not good at putting what she learns to use correcting all the time such as chemistry, although she tries which is a great thing. Lela really enjoyed doing this project and she hopes people like what she put together and can put it to good use!