The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network
Edward A. Vessel, G. Gabrielle Starr, Nava Rubin
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00066 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human observers |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Citations | 369 |
| Key findings | Aesthetic experience involves linear increases in sensory and striatal activity with ratings, but a step-like frontal network response only for the most moving artworks. |
Abstract
Aesthetic responses to visual art comprise multiple types of experiences, from sensation and perception to emotion and self-reflection. Moreover, aesthetic experience is highly individual, with observers varying significantly in their responses to the same artwork. Combining fMRI and behavioral analysis of individual differences in aesthetic response, we identify two distinct patterns of neural activity exhibited by different sub-networks. Activity increased linearly with observers' ratings (4-level scale) in sensory (occipito-temporal) regions. Activity in the striatum (STR) also varied linearly with ratings, with below-baseline activations for low-rated artworks. In contrast, a network of frontal regions showed a step-like increase only for the most moving artworks ("4" ratings) and non-differential activity for all others. This included several regions belonging to the "default mode network" (DMN) previously associated with self-referential mentation. Our results suggest that aesthetic experience involves the integration of sensory and emotional reactions in a manner linked with their personal relevance.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| Default mode network can support the level of detail in experience during active task states Human participants performing working-memory tasks in an fMRI scanner | 2018 | Experimental study with fMRI and self-report |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Art reaches within: aesthetic experience, the self and the default mode network Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- Effects of psilocybin microdosing on awe and aesthetic experiences: a preregistered field and lab-based study Psychopharmacology April 30, 2021
- Aesthetic quality of psychedelic experience is linked to insight and psychological outcomes Frontiers in Psychology May 15, 2025
- Aesthetic Anhedonia and Psychotic Hyper-Meaning: Dysregulated Symbolic Closure Dynamics. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science April 15, 2026
- From the Exposure Model to the Generative Brain: Art, Creativity, and the Case for Cultural Vitality as Health Infrastructure Brain Sciences October 14, 2026
and 7 more in the library