Tapping into the Neurobiology of Speech and Dance Production at Yale Whitney Humanities Center

Neuroscientist Constantina Theofanopoulou explores the neural circuits of complex sensory-motor behaviors that serve social communication, specifically speech and dance, and aims to identify potential therapies for disorders that affect these behaviors, like Parkinson’s Disease. In this lecture, she will present research uncovering possible similarities between speech and dance, including an examination of the brain pathways involved (using fMRI and EEG), the genetic basis (with a focus on the oxytocin gene family), and clinical applications that use dance as a treatment for sensory-motor deficits.

Dr. Constantina Theofanopoulou is the Herbert and Nell Singer Research Assistant Professor at Rockefeller University, Visiting Scholar at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University, and Research Associate at Emory University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Her scientific findings in the neurobiology of dance have garnered international recognition, including her selection as a Next Generation Leader by the Allen Institute and her inclusion in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Dr. Theofanopoulou is also actively involved in communicating science to non-scientists and supporting underrepresented minorities and women in science. Among her roles, she has served as a STEM mentor in the New York Academy of Sciences, a council member of the Rockefeller Inclusive Science Initiative, and a board member of the International Brain Research Organization’s Early Career Committee. Constantina is a flamenco dancer and has been awarded with the first flamenco prize by the Spanish Dance Society.