Brain correlates of aesthetic expertise: A parametric fMRI study
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Brain correlates of aesthetic expertise: A parametric fMRI study. / Kirk, Ulrich; Skov, Martin; Christensen, Mark Schram; Nygaard, Niels.
In: Brain and Cognition, Vol. 69, No. 2, 2009, p. 306-315.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Brain correlates of aesthetic expertise: A parametric fMRI study
AU - Kirk, Ulrich
AU - Skov, Martin
AU - Christensen, Mark Schram
AU - Nygaard, Niels
N1 - CURIS 2009 5200 049
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Several studies have demonstrated that acquired expertise influences aesthetic judgments. In this paradigm we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study aesthetic judgments of visually presented architectural stimuli and control-stimuli (faces) for a group of architects and a group of non-architects. This design allowed us to test whether level of expertise modulates neural activity in brain areas associated with either perceptual processing, memory, or reward processing. We show that experts and non-experts recruit bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and subcallosal cingulate gyrus differentially during aesthetic judgment, even in the absence of behavioural aesthetic rating differences between experts and non-experts. By contrast, activity in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) exhibits a differential response profile compared to OFC and subcallosal cingulate gyrus, suggesting a dissociable role between these regions in the reward processing of expertise. Finally, categorical responses (irrespective of aesthetic ratings) resulted in expertise effects in memory-related areas such as hippocampus and precuneus. These results highlight the fact that expertise not only modulates cognitive processing, but also modulates the response in reward related brain areas.
AB - Several studies have demonstrated that acquired expertise influences aesthetic judgments. In this paradigm we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study aesthetic judgments of visually presented architectural stimuli and control-stimuli (faces) for a group of architects and a group of non-architects. This design allowed us to test whether level of expertise modulates neural activity in brain areas associated with either perceptual processing, memory, or reward processing. We show that experts and non-experts recruit bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and subcallosal cingulate gyrus differentially during aesthetic judgment, even in the absence of behavioural aesthetic rating differences between experts and non-experts. By contrast, activity in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) exhibits a differential response profile compared to OFC and subcallosal cingulate gyrus, suggesting a dissociable role between these regions in the reward processing of expertise. Finally, categorical responses (irrespective of aesthetic ratings) resulted in expertise effects in memory-related areas such as hippocampus and precuneus. These results highlight the fact that expertise not only modulates cognitive processing, but also modulates the response in reward related brain areas.
U2 - 10.1016/j.bandc.2008.08.004
DO - 10.1016/j.bandc.2008.08.004
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 18783864
VL - 69
SP - 306
EP - 315
JO - Brain and Cognition
JF - Brain and Cognition
SN - 0278-2626
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 10091530