But it is only recently that it has become possible to investigate the physiological bases of aesthetic experience. What are the neural underpinnings of aesthetically moving experience?Īlthough the foundation of aesthetic inquiry as a formal scholarly discipline is relatively recent-the philosopher Alexander Baumgarten introduced the modern use of the term in 1739-musings about the nature of “beauty” date back at least as early as Plato ( Plato, 1989) and Confucius, and evidence exists of well-developed artistic traditions in most of the world's ancient cultures (e.g., China, India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia). And although the relevant objects in and of themselves have no immediate or direct value for survival or for the satisfaction of basic needs (food, shelter, reproduction), they nevertheless accrue great value within human culture. Looking at paintings, listening to music, or reading poems-these are hedonic experiences in which humans consistently choose to engage. Human beings in every culture seek out a variety of experiences which are classified as “aesthetic”-activities linked to the perception of external objects, but not to any apparent functional use these objects might have. Our results suggest that aesthetic experience involves the integration of sensory and emotional reactions in a manner linked with their personal relevance. This included several regions belonging to the “default mode network” (DMN) previously associated with self-referential mentation. In contrast, a network of frontal regions showed a step-like increase only for the most moving artworks (“4” ratings) and non-differential activity for all others. Activity in the striatum (STR) also varied linearly with ratings, with below-baseline activations for low-rated artworks. Activity increased linearly with observers' ratings (4-level scale) in sensory (occipito-temporal) regions. Combining fMRI and behavioral analysis of individual differences in aesthetic response, we identify two distinct patterns of neural activity exhibited by different sub-networks. Moreover, aesthetic experience is highly individual, with observers varying significantly in their responses to the same artwork. 3Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USAĪesthetic responses to visual art comprise multiple types of experiences, from sensation and perception to emotion and self-reflection.2Department of English, New York University, New York, NY, USA. ![]() ![]() 1Center for Brain Imaging, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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