Art reaches within: aesthetic experience, the self and the default mode network

5. The self

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198794738.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 67-82

Author(s):

Susan Blackmore

Keyword(s):

Default Mode Network ◽

William James ◽

The Self ◽

Bundle Theory ◽

Derek Parfit ◽

Daniel Dennett ◽

Default Mode

Who—or what—am I? ‘The self’ shows that this question is intimately bound up with the problem of consciousness because whenever there are conscious experiences it is easy to assume they must be happening to someone; that there cannot be experiences without an experiencer. Philosopher Derek Parfit distinguishes between ego theories and bundle theories to try to sort out some of the confusion. Buddhism is the only major religion to reject the idea of a persisting self and therefore subscribe to bundle theory. The concepts of hypnosis, dissociation, and the default mode network are also discussed along with the theories of William James, Ramachandran, and Daniel Dennett.

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Internal Orientation in Aesthetic Experience

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190464745.013.17 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Oshin Vartanian

Keyword(s):

Default Mode Network ◽

Aesthetic Experience ◽

The Other ◽

Neural Systems ◽

Aesthetic Experiences ◽

Considerable Evidence ◽

Default Mode ◽

Feeling States ◽

The Brain

There is considerable evidence to suggest that aesthetic experiences engage a distributed set of structures in the brain, and likely emerge from the interactions of multiple neural systems. In addition, aside from an external (i.e., object-focused) orientation, aesthetic experiences also involve an internal (i.e., person-focused) orientation. This internal orientation appears to have two dissociable neural components: one component involves the processing of visceral feeling states (i.e., interoception) and primarily engages the insula, whereas the other involves the processing of self-referential, autobiographical, and narrative information, and is represented by activation in the default mode network. Evidence supporting this neural dissociation has provided insights into processes that can lead to deep and moving aesthetic experiences.

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Dynamics of aesthetic experience are reflected in the default-mode network

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/18.10.151 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 151

Author(s):

Edward Vessel ◽

Amy Belfi ◽

Aenne Brielmann ◽

Ilkay Isik ◽

Anjan Chatterjee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Default Mode Network ◽

Aesthetic Experience ◽

Default Mode

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Enhanced Power Within the Default Mode Network in Normal Subjects with Elevated Scores on an Egocentric Scale

The Open Neuroimaging Journal ◽

10.2174/1874440001408010005 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 5-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mark W.G Collins ◽

Michael A Persinger

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

The Self ◽

Low Resolution ◽

Default Mode ◽

Electromagnetic Tomography ◽

Global Power ◽

The Right

Integrated global power from the primary structures that composed the Default Mode Network (DMN) and from a random collection of other structures were measured by sLORETA (standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography) for young university volunteers who had completed an inventory that contained a subscale by which egocentricity has been inferred. Subjects who exhibited higher scores for egocentricity displayed significantly more power within the DMN structures relative to comparison areas. This was not observed for individuals whose egocentricity scores were lowest where the power differences between the DMN and comparison structures were not significant statistically. DMN power was greater in the right hemisphere than the left for men but greater in the left hemisphere than the right for women. The results are consistent with our operating metaphor that elevation of power or activity within the DMN is associated with greater affiliation with the self and its cognitive contents.

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