PSYCH 119T Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Middle Frontal Gyrus, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Lingual Gyrus
Document Summary
Up until around 2004, it was assumed that there is only one brain region to process art aesthetics, but the search for a single region revealed otherwise. When a substantial number of studies are performed. A meta-analysis of the combined results from many fmri studies can yield a pattern of consistent brain activation. Today, we"ll cover the results of the most recent meta analysis. Knowledge about aesthetic reactions to art in the brain comes from aesthetic judgement of visual art stimuli. Subjects are shown artworks and asked to judge them while fmri measurements are taken. Typically, they have to judge how beautiful or not beautiful each artwork is. Researchers look at which areas become maximally active during the judgement. About 20 studies included in today"s meta-analysis. Overall, aesthetic experience uses neural systems, rather than a single neural region. Requires activation of a distributed network in regions associated with different functions: sensory, perceptual, cognitive, motoric, emotional, attentional.
