Ricerc@Sapienza

The link between arts and brain is reported, describing the relationship between several brain area and the artistic behavior, the modifications of the art performances following pathologic conditions, art performed by mentally disabled patients as an instrument of communications and rehabilitation, and finally the example of Stendhal syndrome as a condition in which arts may
stimulate brain, in susceptible subjects, leading to physical and psychological disturbances.

Several affective and cognitive processes have been found to be pivotal in affecting aesthetic experience of artworks and both neuropsychological as well as psychiatric symptoms have been found to affect artistic production. However, there is a paucity of studies directly investigating effects of brain lesions on aesthetic judgment. Here, we assessed the effects of unilateral brain damage on aesthetic judgment of artworks showing part/whole ambiguity.