Neuroscience of Art

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2017) | Viewed by 30686

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Interests: brain and art; biological and evolutionary origins of art; art following brain damage; neural underpinning of art; neuroaesthetics in art

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship between the brain and the arts has held a fascination for scholars and artists alike. In the last decade the search for the neural underpinnings of art production and perception has intensified particularly through neuroimaging studies and individual case studies of artists with brain damage. The main goals of this Special Issue are to enhance and extend existing knowledge of art’s neural underpinnings. Submitted manuscripts describing original and previously unpublished results from neuroimaging investigations in the visual, literary, and musical arts as well as from clinical neurological studies of artists will undergo a review process to ensure they meet scientific criteria and the goals of this issue. Papers must be in English and well-written. Deadline for submission is 31 January 2017.

D. W. Zaidel
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • brain and art
  • neurology of art
  • fMRI and art
  • artists with brain damage

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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184 KiB  
Article
Braque and Kokoschka: Brain Tissue Injury and Preservation of Artistic Skill
by D. W. Zaidel
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(3), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7030056 - 19 Aug 2017
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5404
Abstract
The neural underpinning of art creation can be gleaned following brain injury in professional artists. Any alteration to their artistic productivity, creativity, skills, talent, and genre can help understand the neural underpinning of art expression. Here, two world-renown and influential artists who sustained [...] Read more.
The neural underpinning of art creation can be gleaned following brain injury in professional artists. Any alteration to their artistic productivity, creativity, skills, talent, and genre can help understand the neural underpinning of art expression. Here, two world-renown and influential artists who sustained brain injury in World War I are the focus, namely the French artist Georges Braque and the Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka. Braque is particularly associated with Cubism, and Kokoschka with Expressionism. Before enlisting, they were already well-known and highly regarded. Both were wounded in the battlefield where they lost consciousness and treated in European hospitals. Braque’s injury was in the left hemisphere while Kokoschka’s was in the right hemisphere. After the injury, Braque did not paint again for nearly a whole year while Kokoschka commenced his artistic works when still undergoing hospital treatment. Their post-injury art retained the same genre as their pre-injury period, and their artistic skills, talent, creativity, and productivity remained unchanged. The quality of their post-injury artworks remained highly regarded and influential. These neurological cases suggest widely distributed and diffuse neural control by the brain in the creation of art. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroscience of Art)
671 KiB  
Article
Neuropsychology of Aesthetic Judgment of Ambiguous and Non-Ambiguous Artworks
by Maddalena Boccia, Sonia Barbetti, Laura Piccardi, Cecilia Guariglia and Anna Maria Giannini
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7010013 - 18 Mar 2017
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6982
Abstract
Several affective and cognitive processes have been found to be pivotal in affecting aesthetic experience of artworks and both neuropsychological as well as psychiatric symptoms have been found to affect artistic production. However, there is a paucity of studies directly investigating effects of [...] Read more.
Several affective and cognitive processes have been found to be pivotal in affecting aesthetic experience of artworks and both neuropsychological as well as psychiatric symptoms have been found to affect artistic production. However, there is a paucity of studies directly investigating effects of brain lesions on aesthetic judgment. Here, we assessed the effects of unilateral brain damage on aesthetic judgment of artworks showing part/whole ambiguity. We asked 19 unilaterally brain-damaged patients (10 left and 9 right brain damaged patients, respectively LBDP and RBDP) and 20 age- and education-matched healthy individuals (controls, C) to rate 10 Arcimboldo’s ambiguous portraits (AP), 10 realistic Renaissance portraits (RP), 10 still life paintings (SL), and 10 Arcimboldo’s modified portraits where only objects/parts are detectable (AO). They were also administered a Navon task, a facial recognition test, and evaluated on visuo-perceptual and visuo-constructional abilities. Patients included in the study did not show any deficits that could affect the capability to explore and enjoy artworks. SL and RP was not affected by brain damage regardless of its laterality. On the other hand, we found that RBDP liked AP more than the C participants. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between aesthetic judgment of AP and visuo-perceptual skills even if the single case analyses failed to find a systematic association between neuropsychological deficits and aesthetic judgment of AP. On the whole, the present data suggest that a right hemisphere lesion may affect aesthetic judgment of ambiguous artworks, even in the absence of exploration or constructional deficits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroscience of Art)
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Review

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1658 KiB  
Review
Universal Connection through Art: Role of Mirror Neurons in Art Production and Reception
by Bartlomiej Piechowski-Jozwiak, François Boller and Julien Bogousslavsky
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7020029 - 5 May 2017
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 9315
Abstract
Art is defined as expression or application of human creative skill and imagination producing works to be appreciated primarily for their aesthetic value or emotional power. This definition encompasses two very important elements—the creation and reception of art—and by doing so it establishes [...] Read more.
Art is defined as expression or application of human creative skill and imagination producing works to be appreciated primarily for their aesthetic value or emotional power. This definition encompasses two very important elements—the creation and reception of art—and by doing so it establishes a link, a dialogue between the artist and spectator. From the evolutionary biological perspective, activities need to have an immediate or remote effect on the population through improving survival, gene selection, and environmental adjustment, and this includes art. It may serve as a universal means of communication bypassing time, cultural, ethnic, and social differences. The neurological mechanisms of both art production and appreciation are researched by neuroscientists and discussed both in terms of healthy brain biology and complex neuronal networking perspectives. In this paper, we describe folk art and the issue of symbolic archetypes in psychoanalytic thought as well as offer neuronal mechanisms for art by emphasizing mirror/neurons and the role they play in it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroscience of Art)
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Other

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206 KiB  
Opinion
The Role of the Orbitofrontal and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices in Aesthetic Preference for Art
by Luca F. Ticini
Behav. Sci. 2017, 7(2), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7020031 - 11 May 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8213
Abstract
The search for the underlying neural activation that occurs during subjective aesthetic experiences of artwork has been enhanced through neuroimaging techniques. Recently, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, alongside the orbitofrontal cortex, have been implicated in aesthetic appreciation, and this is the focus of the [...] Read more.
The search for the underlying neural activation that occurs during subjective aesthetic experiences of artwork has been enhanced through neuroimaging techniques. Recently, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, alongside the orbitofrontal cortex, have been implicated in aesthetic appreciation, and this is the focus of the present paper. Here, the validity of this conclusion is examined through the discussion of its neuroanatomical connections and functional properties. It is proposed that the experimental evidence challenges the view that this area could hold a privileged position in a brain network involved in aesthetic preference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroscience of Art)
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