Art, aesthetics, and the brain /
edited by Joseph P. Huston, Marcos Nadal, Francisco Mora, Luigi F. Agnati, Camilo J. Cela-Conde.
- xxii, 545 pages : illustrations (some colour).
Formerly CIP.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Section 1: Foundational issues -- Neuroculture : a new cultural revolution? / Francisco Mora -- Art, meaning, and aesthetics : the case for a cognitive neuroscience of art / William P. Seeley -- States, people, and contexts : three psychological challenges for the neuroscience of aesthetics / Kirill Fayn, Paul J. Silvia -- Aesthetic appreciation : convergence from experimental aesthetics and physiology / Helmut Leder, Gernot Gerger, David Brieber -- The moving eye of the beholder : eye tracking and the perception of paintings / Raphael Rosenberg, Christoph Klein -- Section 2: Cogtnitive neuroscience of visual aesthetics and art -- Neural mechanisms for evaluating the attractiveness of faces / Spas Getov, Joel S. Winston -- Indeterminate artworks and the human brain / Robert C. Pepperell, Alumit Ishai -- Contextual bias and insulation against bias during aesthetic rating : the roles of VMPFC and DLPFC in neural valuation / Ulrich Kirk, David Freedberg -- Neuroimaging studies of making aesthetic products / Oshin A. Vartanian -- Section 3: Cognitive neuroscience of dance -- Beautiful embodiment : the shaping of aesthetic preference personal experience / Emily S. Cross -- Sensorimotor aesthetics : neural correlates of aesthetics perception of dance / Beatriz Calvo-Merino -- Moving towards ecological validity in empirical aesthetics of dance / Julia F. Christensen, Corinne Jola -- Section 4: Cognitive neuroscience of music -- Liking music : genres, contextual factors, and individual differences / Kathleen A. Corrigall, E. Glenn Schellenberg -- Tension-resolution patterns as a key element of aesthetic experience : psychological principles and underlying brain mechanisms / Moritz Lehne, Stefan Koelsch -- From pleasure to liking and back : bottom-up and top-down neural routes to the aesthetic enjoyment of music / Elvira Brattico -- Effects of expertise on the cognitive and neural processes involved in musical appreciation / Marcus T. Pearce -- Section 5: Neuropsychology of art and aesthetics -- The neuropsychology of visual art / Anjan Chatterjee -- The creation of art in the setting of dementia / Indre V. Viskontas, Suzee E. Lee -- Hemispheric specialization, art, and aesthetics / Dahlia W. Zaidel -- Section 6: The evolution of art, aesthetics, and the brain -- Towards a comparative approach to empirical aesthetics / Gesche Westphal-Fitch, W. Tecumseh Fitch -- Art and brain co-evolution / Camilo J. Cela-Conde, Francisco J. Ayala -- Art as a human "instinct-like" behavior emerging from the exaptation of the communication processes / Luigi F. Agnati, Diego Guidolin, Kjell Fuxe -- Section 7: Integrative approaches -- Neurobiological foundations of art and aesthetics / Edmund T. Rolls -- Aesthetic evaluation of art : a formal approach / Alexander J. Huston, Joseph P. Huston -- Tempos of eternity : music, volition, and playing with time / Barbara G. Goodrich.
Humans have engaged in artistic and aesthetic activities since the appearance of our species. Our ancestors have decorated their bodies, tools, and utensils for over 100,000 years. The expression of meaning using color, line, sound, rhythm, or movement, among other means, constitutes a fundamental aspect of our species' biological and cultural heritage. Art and aesthetics, therefore, contribute to our species identity and distinguish it from its living and extinct relatives. Science is faced with the challenge of explaining the natural foundations of such a unique trait, and the way cultural processes nurture it into magnificent expressions, historically and ethnically unique. How does the human brain bring about these sorts of behaviors? What neural processes underlie the appreciation of painting, music, and dance? How does training modulate these processes? How are they impaired by brain lesions and neurodegenerative diseases? How did such neural underpinnings evolve? Are humans the only species capable of aesthetic appreciation, or are other species endowed with the rudiments of this capacity? This volume brings together the work on such questions by leading experts in genetics, psychology, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, art history, and philosophy. It sets the stage for a cognitive neuroscience of art and aesthetics, understood in the broadest possible terms. With sections on visual art, dance, music, neuropsychology, and evolution, the breadth of this volume's scope reflects the richness and variety of topics and methods currently used today by scientists to understand the way our brain endows us with the faculty to produce and appreciate art and aesthetics.