title: Neurocognitive processing of body representations in artistic and photographic images.
abstract: Visual art because of its artistic context can be related to the general idea of providing alternative perceptual experiences. However, research examining the neural basis of art beyond the paradigm of beauty has been neglected. This study seeks to determine how the perception of a body in an artwork can be distinguished from the perception of a body in a non-artistic photography. While viewing different body representations in both artworks and photographs, subjects were required to evaluate the appeal of the portrayed persons. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we show that the perception of a body within the context of art leads to a higher activation in the right parietal cortex and the extrastriate cortex bilaterally. Relating this result to concepts from previous research, we suggest that the perception of art is linked to visuo-spatial coding and also motor mapping. In contrast, the higher activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the primary visual cortex during the perception of a body in a non-artistic frame of reference, i.e. in a photograph, can be linked to processes of person evaluation. Possibly, the task to judge the appeal of a person in a photograph might be more daunting and, thus, cause emotional and even moral challenges being reflected in the ventromedial prefrontal activity. Taken together, perceptual experiences within an artistic vs. a non-artistic frame of reference are based on distinct patterns of neuronal activity.
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Sociology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Sociology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nassehi
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany; Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Machine Perception, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany; Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Machine Perception, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pöppel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Anikó
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sztrókay
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fehse
authors.affiliation: Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany. Electronic address: evgeny.gutyrchik@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Evgeny
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutyrchik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001154:Art; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Frame of reference; Parietal cortex; Ventromedial prefrontal cortex; Visual art; Visual cortex; Visuo-spatial coding; fMRI