title: The role of prefrontal and parietal cortices in esthetic appreciation of representational and abstract art: a TMS study.
abstract: To explain the biological foundations of art appreciation is to explain one of our species' distinctive traits. Previous neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies have pointed to the prefrontal and the parietal cortex as two critical regions mediating esthetic appreciation of visual art. In this study, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left prefrontal cortex and the right posterior parietal cortex while participants were evaluating whether they liked, and by how much, a particular painting. By depolarizing cell membranes in the targeted regions, TMS transiently interferes with the activity of specific cortical areas, which allows clarifying their role in a given task. Our results show that both regions play a fundamental role in mediating esthetic appreciation. Critically though, the effects of TMS varied depending on the type of art considered (i.e. representational vs. abstract) and on participants' a-priori inclination toward one or the other.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino, Pavia, Italy. Electronic address: zaira.cattaneo@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Zaira
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lega
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gardelli
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, MA Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: Lotfi B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Merabet
authors.affiliation: Human Evolution and Cognition, IFISC, UIB-CSIC, Spain.
authors.forename: Camilo J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Cela-Conde
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001154:Art; D004954:Esthetics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Art; Esthetic appreciation; Parietal; Prefrontal cortex; TMS