Episode 7: The Neuroscience of Beautiful Things or Neuroaesthetics

How do we designate something, whether it's a painting, a sculpture, or a piece of music as beautiful? Where have our ideas of beauty arisen over the course of human evolution? How do we as individuals decide that something is beautiful to us compared to our neighbors? Dive into the gripping but controversial field of neuroaesthetics to learn a little bit more about the science behind beautiful things. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, queries, or complaints, please email me at [email protected] or DM me at @NeuroscienceAmateurHour on Instagram. Citations and relevant papers below:Neuroaesthetics: Beauty is Only Brain Deep - Omniscience. MyScienceWork. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.mysciencework.com/omniscience/neuroaesthetics-beauty-is-only-brain-deep#:~:text=Those%20who%20oppose%20neuroaesthetics%20areDiessner R. Magnificent Moral Beauty: The Trait of Engagement with Moral Beauty. Understanding the Beauty Appreciation Trait. Published online 2019:183-204. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32333-2_7‌Beauty and the Brain: The Emerging Field of Neuroaesthetics | Arts | The Harvard Crimson. Thecrimson.com. Published November 10, 2017. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/11/10/neuroaesthetics-cover/MBB 980N - Neuroaesthetics at Harvard University | Coursicle Harvard. www.coursicle.com. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.coursicle.com/harvard/courses/MBB/980N/Xie J, Liu B, Elsadek M. How Can Flowers and Their Colors Promote Individuals’ Physiological and Psychological States during the COVID-19 Lockdown? International Journal of Environmental Eckert J. Why we like flowers: the new psychology of bright colors (Part 1). Medium. Published July 3, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://psychologyofart.medium.com/why-do-we-like-flowers-on-the-origin-of-pretty-colors-f3ddd400d168Castro J. How the Brain Responds to Beauty. Scientific American. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-responds-to-beauty/#:~:text=So%20what%20part%20of%20our%20brain%20responds%20to%20beauty%3F&text=Brain%20scientists%20who%20favor%20theChuan-Peng H, Huang Y, Eickhoff SB, Peng K, Sui J. Seeking the “Beauty Center” in the Brain: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies of Beautiful Human Faces and Visual Art. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. 2020;20(6):1200-1215. doi:10.3758/s13415-020-00827-zLüttge U, Souza GM. The Golden Section and beauty in nature: The perfection of symmetry and the charm of asymmetry. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 2019;146:98-103. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.12.008Support the show