1
|
Sarasso P, Tschacher W, Schoeller F, Francesetti G, Roubal J, Gecele M, Sacco K, Ronga I. Nature heals: An informational entropy account of self-organization and change in field psychotherapy. Phys Life Rev 2024; 51:64-84. [PMID: 39299158 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
This paper reviews biophysical models of psychotherapeutic change based on synergetics and the free energy principle. These models suggest that introducing sensory surprise into the patient-therapist system can lead to self-organization and the formation of new attractor states, disrupting entrenched patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. We propose that the therapist can facilitate this process by cultivating epistemic trust and modulating embodied attention to allow surprising affective states to enter shared awareness. Transient increases in free energy enable the update of generative models, expanding the range of experiences available within the patient-therapist phenomenal field. We hypothesize that patterns of disorganization at behavioural and physiological levels, indexed by increased entropy, complexity, and lower determinism, are key markers and predictors of psychotherapeutic gains. Future research should investigate how the therapist's openness to novelty shapes therapeutic outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
| | - Wolfgang Tschacher
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Felix Schoeller
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, United States; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Gianni Francesetti
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology, Turin, Italy
| | - Jan Roubal
- Gestalt Studia, Training in Psychotherapy Integration, Center for Psychotherapy Research in Brno, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Michela Gecele
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology, Turin, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Schoeller F, Jain A, Pizzagalli DA, Reggente N. The neurobiology of aesthetic chills: How bodily sensations shape emotional experiences. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:617-630. [PMID: 38383913 PMCID: PMC11233292 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01168-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The phenomenon of aesthetic chills-shivers and goosebumps associated with either rewarding or threatening stimuli-offers a unique window into the brain basis of conscious reward because of their universal nature and simultaneous subjective and physical counterparts. Elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying aesthetic chills can reveal fundamental insights about emotion, consciousness, and the embodied mind. What is the precise timing and mechanism of bodily feedback in emotional experience? How are conscious feelings and motivations generated from interoceptive predictions? What is the role of uncertainty and precision signaling in shaping emotions? How does the brain distinguish and balance processing of rewards versus threats? We review neuroimaging evidence and highlight key questions for understanding how bodily sensations shape conscious feelings. This research stands to advance models of brain-body interactions shaping affect and may lead to novel nonpharmacological interventions for disorders of motivation and pleasure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Felix Schoeller
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Abhinandan Jain
- Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Nicco Reggente
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sarasso P, Ronga I, Piovesan F, Barbieri P, Del Fante E, De Luca D, Bechis L, Osello A, Sacco K. Shared attention in virtual immersive reality enhances electrophysiological correlates of implicit sensory learning. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3767. [PMID: 38355691 PMCID: PMC10866920 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53937-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Shared attention effects on learning and memory demonstrate that experiences are amplified when we are not alone. Virtual reality poses new challenges to the study of co-presence. Above all, is coattending together with someone else's avatar in an immersive VR setting comparable with shared experiences at a neural processing level? In the present study we investigate shared attention effects in VR for the first time. We recorded mismatch negativities (MMN) during an auditory roving paradigm, a well-known index of implicit perceptual learning. EEG responses to deviant and standard sounds were registered while subjects were alone (Solo condition) or together (Other condition) with a virtual avatar (Virtual scenario) or physically present confederate (Physical scenario). We found an overall main effect of co-presence on MMN revealed by a point-by-point 2 × 2 ANOVA, thereby replicating previous studies on physical co-presence. Additionally, we found no significant interaction between the scenario (Physical vs. Virtual) and co-presence (Solo vs. Other). Our results indicate that virtual immersive co-presence mimics physical co-presence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy.
| | - Francesca Piovesan
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Paolo Barbieri
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Elena Del Fante
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Daniela De Luca
- VR@POLITO, Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG), Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Ludovico Bechis
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Anna Osello
- VR@POLITO, Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG), Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi, 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Barbieri P, Sarasso P, Lodico F, Aliverti A, Murayama K, Sacco K, Ronga I. The aesthetic valve: how aesthetic appreciation may switch emotional states from anxiety to curiosity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220413. [PMID: 38104608 PMCID: PMC10725764 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Pursuing new knowledge in the entropic environment is pivotal for survival. However, dealing with uncertainty is a costly challenge for the agent surrounded by the stochastic sensory world, giving rise to different epistemic emotions, such as curiosity and anxiety. We recently proposed that aesthetic appreciation may have the role of associating pleasant feedback with the update of predictive representations. According to this idea, aesthetic appreciation and its associated rewarding feeling could drive people to seek new knowledge over anxiety. However, the relationship between aesthetic appreciation, curiosity, and anxiety has been still under-examined in the literature. Here, we explore the relationship between these epistemic emotions in a series of three experiments. In study 1, we examined whether music-induced aesthetic appreciation would influence curiosity in a gambling task. In studies 2a and 2b, we explore the relationship between music-induced aesthetic appreciation and anxiety state. Overall, aesthetic appreciation promoted curiosity-driven behaviour while it was negatively associated with anxiety. These results were consistent with the idea that aesthetic appreciation could act as a 'valve', prompting the individual to perceive curiosity (i.e. to consider novelty as a valuable opportunity to acquire new knowledge) rather than anxiety (i.e. to consider novelty as a risk to be avoided). This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Barbieri
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| | - Pietro Sarasso
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| | - Fabio Lodico
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| | - Alice Aliverti
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| | - Kou Murayama
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, 72074, Germany
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Piemonte 10124, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Sarasso P, Francesetti G, Schoeller F. Editorial: Possible applications of neuroaesthetics to normal and pathological behaviour. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1225308. [PMID: 37521683 PMCID: PMC10381953 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1225308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- Brain Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Gianni Francesetti
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology, Turin, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Felix Schoeller
- Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, United States
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Sarasso P, Ronga I, Del Fante E, Barbieri P, Lozzi I, Rosaia N, Cicerale A, Neppi-Modona M, Sacco K. Physical but not virtual presence of others potentiates implicit and explicit learning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21205. [PMID: 36481679 PMCID: PMC9732282 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25273-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
E-learning activities are becoming more and more common. Whilst it is well known that the physical presence of others motivates individuals to engage in perceptual and learning tasks, systematic investigations comparing the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on knowledge acquisition are still scarce. Here we investigate the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on explicit and implicit learning. In Experiment 1 (discovery sample), retrieval accuracy in a spatial memory task and EEG indexes (mismatch negativity-MMN) of implicit perceptual learning were recorded when participants were alone or in presence of another individual. In Experiment 2 (replicating sample), we added a "virtual" condition, where the same tasks were performed during a video-conference call. In both experiments, MMN was demonstrated to encode for perceptual learning as revealed by the significant correlation with Bayesian Surprise (a consolidated information-theoretic index of Bayesian learning). Furthermore, In Experiments 1 and 2 physical co-presence systematically ameliorated memorization performances and increased MMN indexes related to implicit learning. These positive effects were absent in the virtual condition, thus suggesting that only physical, but not virtual co-presence is effective in potentiating learning dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Elena Del Fante
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Paolo Barbieri
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Lozzi
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Nicola Rosaia
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Alessandro Cicerale
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Neppi-Modona
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- grid.7605.40000 0001 2336 6580BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Verdi, 10, 10124 Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Multisensory-driven facilitation within the peripersonal space is modulated by the expectations about stimulus location on the body. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20061. [PMID: 36414633 PMCID: PMC9681840 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21469-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Compelling evidence from human and non-human studies suggests that responses to multisensory events are fastened when stimuli occur within the space surrounding the bodily self (i.e., peripersonal space; PPS). However, some human studies did not find such effect. We propose that these dissonant voices might actually uncover a specific mechanism, modulating PPS boundaries according to sensory regularities. We exploited a visuo-tactile paradigm, wherein participants provided speeded responses to tactile stimuli and rated their perceived intensity while ignoring simultaneous visual stimuli, appearing near the stimulated hand (VTNear) or far from it (VTFar; near the non-stimulated hand). Tactile stimuli could be delivered only to one hand (unilateral task) or to both hands randomly (bilateral task). Results revealed that a space-dependent multisensory enhancement (i.e., faster responses and higher perceived intensity in VTNear than VTFar) was present when highly predictable tactile stimulation induced PPS to be circumscribed around the stimulated hand (unilateral task). Conversely, when stimulus location was unpredictable (bilateral task), participants showed a comparable multisensory enhancement in both bimodal conditions, suggesting a PPS widening to include both hands. We propose that the detection of environmental regularities actively shapes PPS boundaries, thus optimizing the detection and reaction to incoming sensory stimuli.
Collapse
|
8
|
Karim AKMR, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA, Likova LT. Do we enjoy what we sense and perceive? A dissociation between aesthetic appreciation and basic perception of environmental objects or events. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:904-951. [PMID: 35589909 PMCID: PMC10159614 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01004-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
This integrative review rearticulates the notion of human aesthetics by critically appraising the conventional definitions, offerring a new, more comprehensive definition, and identifying the fundamental components associated with it. It intends to advance holistic understanding of the notion by differentiating aesthetic perception from basic perceptual recognition, and by characterizing these concepts from the perspective of information processing in both visual and nonvisual modalities. To this end, we analyze the dissociative nature of information processing in the brain, introducing a novel local-global integrative model that differentiates aesthetic processing from basic perceptual processing. This model builds on the current state of the art in visual aesthetics as well as newer propositions about nonvisual aesthetics. This model comprises two analytic channels: aesthetics-only channel and perception-to-aesthetics channel. The aesthetics-only channel primarily involves restricted local processing for quality or richness (e.g., attractiveness, beauty/prettiness, elegance, sublimeness, catchiness, hedonic value) analysis, whereas the perception-to-aesthetics channel involves global/extended local processing for basic feature analysis, followed by restricted local processing for quality or richness analysis. We contend that aesthetic processing operates independently of basic perceptual processing, but not independently of cognitive processing. We further conjecture that there might be a common faculty, labeled as aesthetic cognition faculty, in the human brain for all sensory aesthetics albeit other parts of the brain can also be activated because of basic sensory processing prior to aesthetic processing, particularly during the operation of the second channel. This generalized model can account not only for simple and pure aesthetic experiences but for partial and complex aesthetic experiences as well.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A K M Rezaul Karim
- Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
- Envision Research Institute, 610 N. Main St., Wichita, KS, USA.
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | | | | | - Lora T Likova
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Sarasso P, Francesetti G, Roubal J, Gecele M, Ronga I, Neppi-Modona M, Sacco K. Beauty and Uncertainty as Transformative Factors: A Free Energy Principle Account of Aesthetic Diagnosis and Intervention in Gestalt Psychotherapy. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:906188. [PMID: 35911596 PMCID: PMC9325967 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.906188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Drawing from field theory, Gestalt therapy conceives psychological suffering and psychotherapy as two intentional field phenomena, where unprocessed and chaotic experiences seek the opportunity to emerge and be assimilated through the contact between the patient and the therapist (i.e., the intentionality of contacting). This therapeutic approach is based on the therapist’s aesthetic experience of his/her embodied presence in the flow of the healing process because (1) the perception of beauty can provide the therapist with feedback on the assimilation of unprocessed experiences; (2) the therapist’s attentional focus on intrinsic aesthetic diagnostic criteria can facilitate the modification of rigid psychopathological fields by supporting the openness to novel experiences. The aim of the present manuscript is to review recent evidence from psychophysiology, neuroaesthetic research, and neurocomputational models of cognition, such as the free energy principle (FEP), which support the notion of the therapeutic potential of aesthetic sensibility in Gestalt psychotherapy. Drawing from neuroimaging data, psychophysiology and recent neurocognitive accounts of aesthetic perception, we propose a novel interpretation of the sense of beauty as a self-generated reward motivating us to assimilate an ever-greater spectrum of sensory and affective states in our predictive representation of ourselves and the world and supporting the intentionality of contact. Expecting beauty, in the psychotherapeutic encounter, can help therapists tolerate uncertainty avoiding impulsive behaviours and to stay tuned to the process of change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
- *Correspondence: Pietro Sarasso,
| | - Gianni Francesetti
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology, Turin Center for Gestalt Therapy, Turin, Italy
| | - Jan Roubal
- Psychotherapy Training Gestalt Studia, Training in Psychotherapy Integration, Center for Psychotherapy Research in Brno, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Michela Gecele
- International Institute for Gestalt Therapy and Psychopathology, Turin Center for Gestalt Therapy, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Neppi-Modona
- BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
The unexplored link between aesthetic perception and creativity: a theory-driven meta-analysis of fMRI studies in the visual domain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104768. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
11
|
Sacco K, Ronga I, Perna P, Cicerale A, Del Fante E, Sarasso P, Geminiani GC. A Virtual Navigation Training Promotes the Remapping of Space in Allocentric Coordinates: Evidence From Behavioral and Neuroimaging Data. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:693968. [PMID: 35479185 PMCID: PMC9037151 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.693968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Allocentric space representations demonstrated to be crucial to improve visuo-spatial skills, pivotal in every-day life activities and for the development and maintenance of other cognitive abilities, such as memory and reasoning. Here, we present a series of three different experiments: Experiment 1, Discovery sample (23 young male participants); Experiment 2, Neuroimaging and replicating sample (23 young male participants); and Experiment 3 (14 young male participants). In the experiments, we investigated whether virtual navigation stimulates the ability to form spatial allocentric representations. With this aim, we used a novel 3D videogame (MindTheCity!), focused on the navigation of a virtual town. We verified whether playing at MindTheCity! enhanced the performance on spatial representational tasks (pointing to a specific location in space) and on a spatial memory test (asking participant to remember the location of specific objects). Furthermore, to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying the observed effects, we performed a preliminary fMRI investigation before and after the training with MindTheCity!. Results show that our virtual training enhances the ability to form allocentric representations and spatial memory (Experiment 1). Experiments 2 and 3 confirmed the behavioral results of Experiment 1. Furthermore, our preliminary neuroimaging and behavioral results suggest that the training activates brain circuits involved in higher-order mechanisms of information encoding, triggering the activation of broader cognitive processes and reducing the working load on memory circuits (Experiments 2 and 3).
Collapse
|
12
|
Preferred music listening is associated with perceptual learning enhancement at the expense of self-focused attention. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:2108-2121. [PMID: 35668293 PMCID: PMC9722857 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02127-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Can preferred music listening improve following attentional and learning performances? Here we suggest that this may be the case. In Experiment 1, following preferred and non-preferred musical-piece listening, we recorded electrophysiological responses to an auditory roving-paradigm. We computed the mismatch negativity (MMN - the difference between responses to novel and repeated stimulation), as an index of perceptual learning, and we measured the correlation between trial-by-trial EEG responses and the fluctuations in Bayesian Surprise, as a quantification of the neural attunement with stimulus informational value. Furthermore, during music listening, we recorded oscillatory cortical activity. MMN and trial-by-trial correlation with Bayesian surprise were significantly larger after subjectively preferred versus non-preferred music, indicating the enhancement of perceptual learning. The analysis on oscillatory activity during music listening showed a selective alpha power increased in response to preferred music, an effect often related to cognitive enhancements. In Experiment 2, we explored whether this learning improvement was realized at the expense of self-focused attention. Therefore, after preferred versus non-preferred music listening, we collected Heart-Beat Detection (HBD) accuracy, as a measure of the attentional focus toward the self. HBD was significantly lowered following preferred music listening. Overall, our results suggest the presence of a specific neural mechanism that, in response to aesthetically pleasing stimuli, and through the modulation of alpha oscillatory activity, redirects neural resources away from the self and toward the environment. This attentional up-weighting of external stimuli might be fruitfully exploited in a wide area of human learning activities, including education, neurorehabilitation and therapy.
Collapse
|
13
|
Ronga I, Galigani M, Bruno V, Castellani N, Rossi Sebastiano A, Valentini E, Fossataro C, Neppi-Modona M, Garbarini F. Seeming confines: Electrophysiological evidence of peripersonal space remapping following tool-use in humans. Cortex 2021; 144:133-150. [PMID: 34666298 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The peripersonal space (PPS) is a special portion of space immediately surrounding the body, where the integration between tactile stimuli delivered on the body and auditory or visual events emanating from the environment occurs. Interestingly, PPS can widen if a tool is employed to interact with objects in the far space. However, electrophysiological evidence of such tool-use dependent plasticity in the human brain is scarce. Here, in a series of three experiments, participants were asked to respond to tactile stimuli, delivered to their right hand, either in isolation (unimodal condition) or combined with auditory stimulation, which could occur near (bimodal-near) or far from the stimulated hand (bimodal-far). According to multisensory integration spatial rule, when bimodal stimuli are presented at the same location, we expected a response enhancement (response time - RT - facilitation and event-related potential - ERP - super-additivity). In Experiment 1, we verified that RT facilitation was driven by bimodal input spatial congruency, independently from auditory stimulus intensity. In Experiment 2, we showed that our bimodal task was effective in eliciting the magnification of ERPs in bimodal conditions, with significantly larger responses in the near as compared to far condition. In Experiment 3 (main experiment), we explored tool-use driven PPS plasticity. Our audio-tactile task was performed either following tool-use (a 20-min reaching task, performed using a 145 cm-long rake) or after a control cognitive training (a 20-min visual discrimination task) performed in the far space. Following the control training, faster RTs and greater super-additive ERPs were found in bimodal-near as compared to bimodal-far condition (replicating Experiment 2 results). Crucially, this far-near differential response was significantly reduced after tool-use. Altogether our results indicate a selective effect of tool-use remapping in extending the boundaries of PPS. The present finding might be considered as an electrophysiological evidence of tool-use dependent plasticity in the human brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irene Ronga
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Mattia Galigani
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Bruno
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Nicolò Castellani
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy; Molecular Mind Lab, IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
| | | | - Elia Valentini
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Brain Science, University of Essex, UK
| | - Carlotta Fossataro
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Neppi-Modona
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- MANIBUS Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Memorisation and implicit perceptual learning are enhanced for preferred musical intervals and chords. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 28:1623-1637. [PMID: 33945127 PMCID: PMC8500890 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01922-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Is it true that we learn better what we like? Current neuroaesthetic and neurocomputational models of aesthetic appreciation postulate the existence of a correlation between aesthetic appreciation and learning. However, even though aesthetic appreciation has been associated with attentional enhancements, systematic evidence demonstrating its influence on learning processes is still lacking. Here, in two experiments, we investigated the relationship between aesthetic preferences for consonance versus dissonance and the memorisation of musical intervals and chords. In Experiment 1, 60 participants were first asked to memorise and evaluate arpeggiated triad chords (memorisation phase), then, following a distraction task, chords’ memorisation accuracy was measured (recognition phase). Memorisation resulted to be significantly enhanced for subjectively preferred as compared with non-preferred chords. To explore the possible neural mechanisms underlying these results, we performed an EEG study, directed to investigate implicit perceptual learning dynamics (Experiment 2). Through an auditory mismatch detection paradigm, electrophysiological responses to standard/deviant intervals were recorded, while participants were asked to evaluate the beauty of the intervals. We found a significant trial-by-trial correlation between subjective aesthetic judgements and single trial amplitude fluctuations of the ERP attention-related N1 component. Moreover, implicit perceptual learning, expressed by larger mismatch detection responses, was enhanced for more appreciated intervals. Altogether, our results showed the existence of a relationship between aesthetic appreciation and implicit learning dynamics as well as higher-order learning processes, such as memorisation. This finding might suggest possible future applications in different research domains such as teaching and rehabilitation of memory and attentional deficits.
Collapse
|
15
|
Finisguerra A, Ticini LF, Kirsch LP, Cross ES, Kotz SA, Urgesi C. Dissociating embodiment and emotional reactivity in motor responses to artworks. Cognition 2021; 212:104663. [PMID: 33761410 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Perceiving art is known to elicit motor cortex activation in an observer's brain. This motor activation has often been attributed to a covert approach response associated with the emotional valence of an art piece (emotional reaction hypothesis). However, recent accounts have proposed that aesthetic experiences could be grounded in the motor simulation of actions required to produce an art piece and of the sensorimotor states embedded in its subject (embodied aesthetic hypothesis). Here, we aimed to test these two hypotheses by assessing whether motor facilitation during artwork perception mirrors emotional or motor simulation processes. To this aim, we capitalized on single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation revealing a two-stage motor coding of emotional body postures: an early, non-specific activation related to emotion processing and a later action-specific activation reflecting motor simulation. We asked art-naïve individuals to rate how much they liked a series of pointillist and brushstroke canvases; photographs of artistic gardens served as control natural stimuli. After an early (150 ms) or a later (300 ms) post-stimulus delay, motor evoked potentials were recorded from wrist-extensor and finger muscles that were more involved in brushstroke- and pointillist-like painting, respectively. Results showed that observing the two canvas styles did not elicit differential motor activation in the early time window for either muscle, not supporting the emotional reaction hypothesis. However, in support of the embodied aesthetic hypothesis, we found in the later time window greater motor activation responses to brushstroke than pointillist canvases for the wrist-extensor, but not for the finger muscle. Furthermore, this muscle-selective facilitation was associated with lower liking ratings of brushstroke canvases and with greater empathy dispositions. These findings support the claim that simulation of the painter's movements is crucial for aesthetic experience, by documenting a link between motor simulation, dispositional empathy, and subjective appreciation in artwork perception.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Luca F Ticini
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester, UK
| | - Louise P Kirsch
- Institute for Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR), Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Emily S Cross
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, G12 8QB Glasgow, UK & Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Sydney, Australia
| | - Sonja A Kotz
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, 33037 Pasian di Prato, Italy; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Sarasso P, Ronga I, Neppi-Modona M, Sacco K. The Role of Musical Aesthetic Emotions in Social Adaptation to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Front Psychol 2021; 12:611639. [PMID: 33776839 PMCID: PMC7994588 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.611639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Sarasso
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Neppi-Modona
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Katiuscia Sacco
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Pyasik M, Ronga I, Burin D, Salatino A, Sarasso P, Garbarini F, Ricci R, Pia L. I'm a believer: Illusory self-generated touch elicits sensory attenuation and somatosensory evoked potentials similar to the real self-touch. Neuroimage 2021; 229:117727. [PMID: 33434613 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory attenuation (i.e., the phenomenon whereby self-produced sensations are perceived as less intense compared to externally occurring ones) is among the neurocognitive processes that help distinguishing ourselves from others. It is thought to be rooted in the motor system (e.g., related to motor intention and prediction), while the role of body awareness, which necessarily accompanies any voluntary movement, in this phenomenon is largely unknown. To fill this gap, here we compared the perceived intensity, somatosensory evoked potentials, and alpha-band desynchronization for self-generated, other-generated, and embodied-fake-hand-generated somatosensory stimuli. We showed that sensory attenuation triggered by the own hand and by the embodied fake hand had the same behavioral and neurophysiological signatures (reduced subjective intensity, reduced of N140 and P200 SEP components and post-stimulus alpha-band desynchronization). Therefore, signals subserving body ownership influenced attenuation of somatosensory stimuli, possibly in a postdictive manner. This indicates that body ownership is crucial for distinguishing the source of the perceived sensations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Pyasik
- SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; NPSY-Lab.VR, Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- MANIBUS - Movement ANd body In Behavioral and physiological neUroScience research group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Dalila Burin
- IDAC - Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, SARC - Smart-Aging Research Center, Kawashima Laboratory, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Adriana Salatino
- SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Pietro Sarasso
- SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- MANIBUS - Movement ANd body In Behavioral and physiological neUroScience research group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Raffaella Ricci
- SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; NIT (Neuroscience Institute of Turin), 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Pia
- SAMBA (SpAtial, Motor and Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10123 Turin, Italy; NIT (Neuroscience Institute of Turin), 10123 Turin, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Galigani M, Ronga I, Bruno V, Castellani N, Rossi Sebastiano A, Fossataro C, Garbarini F. Face-like configurations modulate electrophysiological mismatch responses. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:1869-1884. [PMID: 33332658 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The human face is one of the most salient stimuli in the environment. It has been suggested that even basic face-like configurations (three dots composing a downward pointing triangle) may convey salience. Interestingly, stimulus salience can be signaled by mismatch detection phenomena, characterized by greater amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to relevant novel stimulation as compared to non-relevant repeated events. Here, we investigate whether basic face-like stimuli are salient enough to modulate mismatch detection phenomena. ERPs are elicited by a pair of sequentially presented visual stimuli (S1-S2), delivered at a constant 1-s interval, representing either a face-like stimulus (Upright configuration) or three neutral configurations (Inverted, Leftwards, and Rightwards configurations), that are obtained by rotating the Upright configuration along the three different axes. In pairs including a canonical face-like stimulus, we observe a more effective mismatch detection mechanism, with significantly larger N270 and P300 components when S2 is different from S1 as compared to when S2 is identical to S1. This ERP modulation, not significant in pairs excluding face-like stimuli, reveals that mismatch detection phenomena are significantly affected by basic face-like configurations. Even though further experiments are needed to ascertain whether this effect is specifically elicited by face-like configuration rather than by particular orientation changes, our findings suggest that face essential, structural attributes are salient enough to affect change detection processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Galigani
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.,BIP Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Bruno
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Nicolò Castellani
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Carlotta Fossataro
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- MANIBUS Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.,Neuroscience Institute of Turin (NIT), Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Galigani M, Ronga I, Fossataro C, Bruno V, Castellani N, Rossi Sebastiano A, Forster B, Garbarini F. Like the back of my hand: Visual ERPs reveal a specific change detection mechanism for the bodily self. Cortex 2020; 134:239-252. [PMID: 33307269 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The ability to identify our own body is considered a pivotal marker of self-awareness. Previous research demonstrated that subjects are more efficient in the recognition of images representing self rather than others' body effectors (self-advantage). Here, we verified whether, at an electrophysiological level, bodily-self recognition modulates change detection responses. In a first EEG experiment (discovery sample), event-related potentials (ERPs) were elicited by a pair of sequentially presented visual stimuli (vS1; vS2), representing either the self-hand or other people's hands. In a second EEG experiment (replicating sample), together with the previously described visual stimuli, also a familiar hand was presented. Participants were asked to decide whether vS2 was identical or different from vS1. Accuracy and response times were collected. In both experiments, results confirmed the presence of the self-advantage: participants responded faster and more accurately when the self-hand was presented. ERP results paralleled behavioral findings. Anytime the self-hand was presented, we observed significant change detection responses, with a larger N270 component for vS2 different rather than identical to vS1. Conversely, when the self-hand was not included, and even in response to the familiar hand in Experiment 2, we did not find any significant modulation of the change detection responses. Overall our findings, showing behavioral self-advantage and the selective modulation of N270 for the self-hand, support the existence of a specific mechanism devoted to bodily-self recognition, likely relying on the multimodal (visual and sensorimotor) dimension of the bodily-self representation. We propose that such a multimodal self-representation may activate the salience network, boosting change detection effects specifically for the self-hand.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Galigani
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Irene Ronga
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
| | | | - Valentina Bruno
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Nicolò Castellani
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Bettina Forster
- Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Psychology Department, City, University of London, UK
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; Neuroscience Institute of Turin, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Sarasso P, Neppi-Modona M, Sacco K, Ronga I. "Stopping for knowledge": The sense of beauty in the perception-action cycle. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:723-738. [PMID: 32926914 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
According to a millennial-old philosophical debate, aesthetic emotions have been connected to knowledge acquisition. Recent scientific evidence, collected across different disciplinary domains, confirms this link, but also reveals that motor inhibition plays a crucial role in the process. In this review, we discuss multidisciplinary results and propose an original account of aesthetic appreciation (the stopping for knowledge hypothesis) framed within the predictive coding theory. We discuss evidence showing that aesthetic emotions emerge in correspondence with an inhibition of motor behavior (i.e., minimizing action), promoting a simultaneous perceptual processing enhancement, at the level of sensory cortices (i.e., optimizing learning). Accordingly, we suggest that aesthetic appreciation may represent a hedonic feedback over learning progresses, motivating the individual to inhibit motor routines to seek further knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, the neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies we review reveal the presence of a strong association between aesthetic appreciation and the activation of the dopaminergic reward-related circuits. Finally, we propose a number of possible applications of the stopping for knowledge hypothesis in the clinical and education domains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P Sarasso
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - M Neppi-Modona
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - K Sacco
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - I Ronga
- BIP (BraIn Plasticity and Behaviour Changes) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Sarasso P, Ronga I, Kobau P, Bosso T, Artusio I, Ricci R, Neppi-Modona M. Beauty in mind: Aesthetic appreciation correlates with perceptual facilitation and attentional amplification. Neuropsychologia 2019; 136:107282. [PMID: 31770549 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Neuroaesthetic research suggests that aesthetic appreciation results from the interaction between the object perceptual features and the perceiver's sensory processing dynamics. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between aesthetic appreciation and attentional modulation at a behavioural and psychophysiological level. In a first experiment, fifty-eight healthy participants performed a visual search task with abstract stimuli containing more or less natural spatial frequencies and subsequently were asked to give an aesthetic evaluation of the images. The results evidenced that response times were faster for more appreciated stimuli. In a second experiment, we recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs) during exposure to the same stimuli. The results showed, only for more appreciated images, an enhancement in C1 and N1, P3 and N4 VEP components. Moreover, we found increased attention-related occipital alpha desynchronization for more appreciated images. We interpret these data as indicative of the existence of a correlation between aesthetic appreciation and perceptual processing enhancement, both at a behavioural and at a neurophysiological level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P Sarasso
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy; Imaging and Cerebral Plasticity Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| | - I Ronga
- Imaging and Cerebral Plasticity Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy.
| | - P Kobau
- Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
| | - T Bosso
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - I Artusio
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - R Ricci
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| | - M Neppi-Modona
- SAMBA (SpAtial Motor & Bodily Awareness) Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|