Art, Aesthetics, and the Brain

Joseph P. Huston is Professor of Physiological Psychology at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany. Joseph has published more than 400 books and scientific articles in areas of behavioral neurosciences with a focus on brain mechanisms of addiction, memory, and reward. He is chief editor of the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Reviews in the Neurosciences, and the book series Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience.Marcos Nadal is Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology of the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. His main research focuses on the evolution, neural correlates, and function of cognitive and affective processes involved in aesthetic preference and art appreciation, as well as moral judgment and metaphoric language.Francisco Mora is Professor of Human Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain. He has written numerous articles for scientific journals including Science and Nature and several books, among them The Hot Brain and Neurocultura.Luigi F. Agnati is Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Modena, Italy, and Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, where he received the Honoris Causa Degree in Medicine. He has published more than 620 papers in refereed international journals and seven textbooks.Camilo J. Cela-Conde is Emeritus Professor of the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. His publications include On Genes, Gods and Tyrants, Human Evolution:Trails from the Past (with Francisco J. Ayala) and Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neandertals and Modern Humans (with Francisco J. Ayala).

What neural processes underlie the appreciation of painting, music, and dance? How did such processes evolve? This book brings together experts in genetics, psychology, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, art history, and philosophy to explore these questions. It sets the stage for a cognitive neuroscience of art and aesthetics.

Section One: Foundational Issues