A Quest for Beauty

In this chapter, the functional neuroimaging study of aesthetic judgment of beauty, reported in Jacobsen and colleagues, is reviewed from the experimenters’ point of view. Based on a framework for the psychology of aesthetics, the multifactorial determination of aesthetic judgment is discussed, along with implications for experimental design in neuroaesthetics. The selection of dependent and independent variables, as well as the control of influencing factors on aesthetic judgment, are discussed with respect to the design of the particular study. The 2006 study is also discussed with respect to contemporary neurocognitive psychology of aesthetics or neuroaesthetics.

Movement, Synchronization, and Partnering in Dance

In a neuroimaging study of tango dancers, the authors attempted to address two fundamental issues about dance: movement patterning (i.e., navigation of the legs in space) and synchronization of movement to the beat of music. The results of the study revealed the importance of the posterior parietal cortex to spatial navigation of movement and the cerebellum to synchronization to the beat. In a later two-person study of leading and following in dance, the author found that leaders accentuate motor processes, while followers accentuate sensory processes in their partnership. Dance is an interesting marriage of movement patterning, timing, and joint action.

The Role of Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices in Aesthetic Valuation

As discussed in both the original study and the current chapter, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a required neural player in the aesthetic appraisal and a basic stage of the aesthetic experience. As the distinct activation that the authors found in the neuroimaging study occurred when participants rated as beautiful natural, artistic, and decorative stimuli, we concluded that left DLPFC responded to aesthetic qualities in general and not to specific artistic qualities. More recent studies indicate that the function of the LPFC in relation to aesthetics may be to exercise cognitive control to direct attention with a proper aesthetic orientation. Other studies suggest that LPFC is part of a frontal “evaluative” network which supports an analysis of emotional response and personal relevance. Specifically, left DLPFC seems to affect the evaluation of different images, disengaging from a habitual mode of identifying objects in order to adopt an aesthetic perspective.

Alone Again: Altered Activation in the Observation Execution System during Synchronization in High Loneliness Individuals

Lonely people evaluate social exchanges and relationships negatively and display difficulties in interpersonal interaction. Interpersonal synchronization is crucial for achieving positive interactions, promoting affinity, closeness, and satisfaction. However, little is known about lonely individuals ability to synchronize and about the activity in the lonely brain while synchronizing. In the present neuroimaging study, 64 participants engaged in interpersonal synchronization, using a novel paradigm involving real dyadic interaction. Results show that high loneliness individuals exhibited a reduced ability to adapt their movement to their partners movement. Intriguingly, during periods in which participants adapted their movement, high loneliness individuals showed increased activation in the observation-execution (OE) system, specifically in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). They did not show increased activation in the dmPFC, which in the context of synchronization was suggested to be related to gap-monitoring. Based on these findings, we propose a model according to which lonely people may require a stronger activation of their OE system for movement alignment to compensate for some deficiency in their ability to synchronize. However, despite this hyper-activation, they still suffer from reduced synchronization capacity. Consequently, synchronization may be a relevant intervention area for the amelioration of chronic loneliness.