The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception.

Emily Cross

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2011.00102

Abstract

The field of neuroaesthetics attracts attention from neuroscientists and artists interested in the neural underpinnings of esthetic experience. Though less studied than the neuroaesthetics of visual art, dance neuroaesthetics is a particularly rich subfield to explore, as it is informed not only by research on the neurobiology of aesthetics, but also by an extensive literature on how action experience shapes perception. Moreover, it is ideally suited to explore the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience, which posits that activation within sensorimotor areas of the brain, known as the action observation network (AON), is a critical element of the esthetic response. In the present study, we address how observers’ esthetic evaluation of dance is related to their perceived physical ability to reproduce the movements they watch. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while evaluating how much they liked and how well they thought they could physically replicate a range of dance movements performed by professional ballet dancers. We used parametric analyses to evaluate brain regions that tracked with degree of liking and perceived physical ability. The findings reveal strongest activation of occipitotemporal and parietal portions of the AON when participants view movements they rate as both esthetically pleasing and difficult to reproduce. As such, these findings begin to illuminate how the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience might apply to watching dance, and provide preliminary evidence as to why some people find enjoyment in an evening at the ballet.

Highlights

In recent years, the nascent field of neuroaesthetics has gained momentum as scientists interested in the neural processes underlying an esthetic experience, such as a beautiful painting, piece of music, or dance performance, have begun to elucidate the links between sensory input and the observers’ affective evaluation (Zeki, 1999; Blood and Zatorre, 2001; Cela-Conde et al, 2004; Kawabata and Zeki, 2004)
action observation network (AON) REGIONS MODULATED BY LIKING The positive direction of this parametric contrast revealed bilateral activation within visual brain regions implicated in the processing of complex motion patterns, and human bodies (ITG/MTG), as well as a large cluster within the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL; Figure 3A; Table 2A)
AON REGIONS MODULATED BY PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE ABILITY In direct contrast to the results reported previously with expert dancers (Cross et al, 2006), no suprathreshold activations emerged from the positive direction of the analysis that evaluated brain regions that increase in response the better a participant thinks he or she can perform an observed movement, either at the corrected or uncorrected level

Summary

Introduction

The nascent field of neuroaesthetics has gained momentum as scientists interested in the neural processes underlying an esthetic experience, such as a beautiful painting, piece of music, or dance performance, have begun to elucidate the links between sensory input and the observers’ affective evaluation (Zeki, 1999; Blood and Zatorre, 2001; Cela-Conde et al, 2004; Kawabata and Zeki, 2004). Most neuroaesthetics research to date has focused on brain engagement when participants evaluate paintings or music (for reviews, see Di Dio and Gallese, 2009; Chatterjee, 2011). One theory emerging from the neuroaesthetics research on visual art is that an important factor in shaping an observer’s esthetic experience is the simulation of actions, emotions, and corporeal sensations visible or implied in an artwork (Freedberg and Gallese, 2007). Freedberg and Gallese (2007) suggest that embodied resonance of art in an observer can be driven by the content of the work (such as empathic pain experienced when viewing the mangled bodies in Goya’s Que hay que hacer mas) or by the visible traces of the artists’ creation (such as evidence for vigorous handling of the artistic medium, like that which might be experienced when viewing a Jackson Pollock painting). We investigate the relationship between esthetic experience, physical ability, and activation of sensorimotor brain regions when watching dance

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion