The Effects of Art on the Mind
Nusayba Mire Tala Ramadan
Grade 9
Presentation
No video provided
Problem
Art is a form of communication, a way for people to know the artist’s true feelings and views and a part of who they are. Your perception of art is like your language, something that is always a part of you and could change. We take everything we know and have experienced, our actions, our words, our feelings, and we use it to live. Art evokes a response in our brain, activating different parts and areas to interpret what is in front of us. In this science fair project, we will be discussing the psychological, and neurological, effects that art has on our mind through different types and components of art, all based on individual interpretation and perception.
Through anazylzing how art is processed in the brain and how it heavily affects it and our behavioural tendancies and emotions, it could further our understanding of how different concepts and artistical pieces impact different parts of both our body and our brain. It could also explain how these different artworks impact people differently. This could help in difficult jobs like therapy, healthcare, education, etc.
By going through both the phsyical and mental portions of our mind, we will delve into the topic of:
The Neuropsychological effects of Art through different Concepts and Genres
Method
1. Question:
Neuropsychological effects of art on the mind, and how it affects the brain and our behaviour, both physical and emotion.
2. Research (Neuroscience/Neuroatonomy): We researched deeply about the brain and its components, the lobs, and cortexes, and we wrote down the main parts that contribute to analyzing art. This would help later in the psychology portion.
3. Research (Psychology)
Hypothesis: If various people with certain backgrounds and experiences are shown different art styles and art components, they will experience different emotions and associate these emotions with personal experiences.
5. Experiment (Participant-based): We gathered 7 different participants, with varying ages, personalities and histories, and we asked them of their opinion of 4 different art pieces ( Abstract, Realistic, Historical, and Expressionism) under a series of questions. We then graphed their questions to see what the majority thought of each artwork, and then explained the science behind it.
6. Data Analysis: Gathered data then put it in a graph, explaining why they felt how they did neuropsychologically.
7.Conclusion: Art has an impact on us greatly, and interacting and analyzing it activates many compents and regions of our brain and it impacts our emotions and behaviour too. It differentiates based on who you are and what you go through, and everyone has different responses and reactions to different art pieces. By understanding art, we can understand the other person too.
Research
To begin to understand how art has an effect on us, humans, we need to look out how visual information is generally analyzed in our brain through various steps, starting with the eyes.
After light enters eye through cornea and lens, the retina detects light, and by using our photoreceptor cells (cones and rodes), it converts the light energy into electrical signals. This is reffered to as phototransduction. Photoreceptors signal to the ganglion cells, which then form optic nerves to that trasnport the signal. It then travesl through the optic chiasm, which is where both of the optic nerves from your eyes intermeet and go the opposite dirrection, and goes along to the Lateral geniculate nucleuus, LGN for short (the thalamus that interlays the visual information for the retina to the primary visual cortex). The LGN is composed of six layers that receive different information from the retinal garglion cells (RGC) .
Starting off with the first two bigger inner layers, the magnocellular layers, this cell systems receives information from parasol cells, which actually make up 10% of RGC. This is all part of the magnocellular pathway. Characteristics of magnocellular layers include
faster (in terms of fast changes in stimuli), low spatial resolution, high detection for motion, sensitive to brightness but monochrome, and overall not detailed.
The parvocellular layers, which make up the rest of the layers, are the smaller outer layers which receive information from midget cells.
Unlike the magnocellular, midget cells make up 80% of RGF. This all together makes the parvocellular pathway. Characteristics of these layers are more precision (mosty likely why they make up most of the LGN), high spatial resolution, variety of colour, but not as fast as magnocellular due to details.
While most do not include this, the LGN also consists of the koniocellular layers which are around 6 layers, as they exist between each magnocellular and parvocellular layer. They are thin and uniquely shaped, recieving information from specific types of ganglion cells. These layers focus primarly on specific colour contrasts , such as blue-yellow, and visual processing.
After going the layers of the LGN, the visual information is then sent to the primary visual cortex, which is found in the occpital lobe at the back of your brain. V1, the most general part of the primary visual cortex is first brain area activated when you view art. It processes the general visual stimuli received from the LGN and breaks it down into basic elements of visualism such as the colour, shape, texture, brightness, etc.
After generally anaylzing, the informations goes into further sections of the visual cortex with V2 receiving the general information from V1 and organizing it complexly (edges, colours, patterns, depth). It also seperates the information onto two pathways:
Ventral: “What” pathway; recognition/identification, colour perception
V1, to V2, V4 Primary visual cortex to temporal lobe (face/memory recognition)
Dorsal: “Where” or “How” pathway; object perception, spatial awareness
V1, to V2, V3, V5, then parietal lobe
Primary visual cortex to posterior parietal lobe
The other specific parts of the primary visual cortex are V3 which focuses on depth and motion, V4, which is part of the ventral pathway, focusing on colour perception and recognition, and V5, which is part of the Dorsal pathway, with motion detection.
The visual cortex is the general brain system behind the process before going into any meaning or diving into emotions, symbolism, or behaviors The detials and specifics start with the limbic system, which is a general system that process behavior and feelings. The key parts of the limbic system consists of:
1. Amygdala – Emotional responses and processing of emotions (such as fear, excitement, worry, anger, etc); when reacting to someone, amygala is triggered. 'Fight' or 'Flight' response.
2. Hippocampus – Memory processing; stores information, past experiences and memoriesand is triggered when remembering or recongnizing. This also counts for recongnizing environement and surroundings.
3. Hypothalamus – Pyschical responses of emotions (works with amygdala); focuses on hormones, stress responses, psychiological changes. Works with nervous system and endocrine system to balance (homoestatis). Also influences automatic nervous system (ANS). Endocrine System:
4. Cingulate Cortex – Emotion regulation and processing. Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC): Watches for errors or problems, and uses information and emotions to contribute. Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC): Uses memories and past experiences (from hippocampus) to reflect and think back on
5. Basal ganglia - Group of nucleaus that contributes to motor activity. It produces dopamine, a reward neurotransmitter, which releases based on what you feel (emotional intensity and importance). The effect of the dopamine makes it so that you want to feel it more, just like getting rewarded as your brain deems it as positive. 
The prefrontal cortex helps with understanding and interpreting the overal visual is, after anaylzing the details and meaning. It then uses this information to to decide the behaviour and decisions.
After going through the details of how the brain works generally in response to art, we now need to look at the psychology side, which focuses on emotions. Neurology works hand in hand with psychology, as every reaction we have psychologically, there is a neurological reason.
When we look at things around us, we don’t just see them, we see our relationship with them. The same applies to art. We don’t just see the shapes and colours used; we relate to what we see. Art doesn’t have a flat answer as everyone perceives it differently while relating it to their own experiences. Every perception is a kind of self-expression.
When artists make art, they use their perception to create it. Then you observe it through your personal lens and therefore interpret it as you see it, as explained in the neurological portion.
When we see different colours, we naturally associate them with emotions and experiences. For example, people often link black with fear, as darkness is unsettling due to the uncertainty of what’s in it. Red is also associated with anger, maybe because of its connection to blood or because we turn red when angry. As you can see, our perceptions of art are influenced by how our minds relate colours and shapes to personal emotions and experiences.
Lines can also affect how we see art. Harsh, strong lines intersecting symbolize anger, while light, swoopy lines signify joy.
Colours tend to trigger more emotions in a person. Theories have circled about the wavelengths affecting how we feel. Longer wavelength colours can feel stimulating and warm, while shorter wavelength colours can feel relaxing and cool.
Studies and Articles About this Topic:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/04/harvard-researcher-on-psychology-of-art/
This is an interview with a researcher from Harvard and this is what she says:
“The arts are a way of making sense of and understanding ourselves and others, a form of meaning-making just as important as are the sciences.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2024/02/29/art-has-a-powerful-effect-on-peoples-bodies-and-emotions-study/
In an experiment where 134 women and 172 men were shown paintings on a tablet or computer and were asked to highlight the most interesting part of the painting.
“Emotional experiences evoked by art were consistent across observers. Aesthetic emotions (art, balance, beauty, and elegance) were most prominent, followed by positive emotions (liking, empathizing and joy) and empathy. Feelings linked with surprise and effort were moderately common,” Nummenmaa and Hari wrote.
One thing that was noticed was that negative emotions were rare despite many of the paintings having unpleasant themes.
Many of the emotions felt were linked with joy and aesthetics
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/researchers-explore-how-we-depict-and-perceive-emotions-through-colour-and-line-visual-art
This study talks about how different colours, lines, and patterns go alongside different emotions and comprehension of art
The picture shows how an artist and a non-artist depicted emotions through art. You can see that they are similar in some ways.
The researchers also found that it is easier to guess the emotion a colour drawing is portraying than in a line drawing. They speculate that this is because the associations between colours and emotions are stronger for people than those between lines and emotions.
Yiana Karayannis owns a blog.
https://yianakarablog.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/how-personal-experiences-change-the-way-we-view-art/
She saw the artwork above called "Death of my Grandfather" and related it to her own life and experiences. She said it reminded her of when her grandfather experienced a stroke.
"The ashy black background symbolises his grandfather’s ‘life flashing before his eyes’ while uncovering his past memories. The work also uncovers many biblical and religious imagery within the work. This can be seen in his grandfather’s skeleton, depicting an allusion to Jesus crucifixion through his emaciated body."
"The rugged faces looking in different directions and their facial expressions shows signs of grief and mourning."
This is how this individual interpreted the different components of this artwork and gave them her own meaning. She related it to her own experience which is something a lot of individuals do when observing art. Someone else might see this piece differently and relate to it in a different way.
Data
To show how different styles evoke different emotions and perception, connect both of the concepts (neurology and psycology) we reasearched, we conducted an experiment. This experiment includes 7 particpants ranging from 40-8 years old. These participants vary in gender and backgrounders, and are all shown 4 different art pieces and asked one question: "How does it make you feel and why?"
First art piece: Realistic/Landscape
Results:
As shown, 57% of particpants find this art piece calm/pieceful. The cool and blended colours evoke a sense of tranquility, which is typical for natural landscapes. This activates the parvocellular pathway in the LGN, which focuses on colour perception and spatial resolution. It also activates the primary visual cortex, ventral stream, and the limbic system, with the hippocampus for memory processing and the amgydala which focuses on emotional responses.
Second art piece: Realistic/Abstract
Results:
This art piece is more complex looking than the previous one, with its various different strokes that blend with each other in a confusing way. Majority of the participants feel a mixture of uneasiness, peacefulness, and sadness. This art piece focuses more on colours and details, once again activating primary visual cortex (specifically v3 and v4 with depth and colour processing) and limbic system (amygdala, ACC, and hippocampus). The prefrontal cortex as well, as this piece involves thinking and interpretation.
Third art piece: Sad/Darkening Piece
Results:
All the particpants seem to agree that this art piece evokes very saddening and negative emotions, sensing the turbulence of emotions. The art has strokes that look like swoops that fits with the theme. Amygdala, the emotion processor, plays a big role in triggering an emotional response. It interacts with the other components of the limbic system such as ACC, hippocampus, and the insula cortex which also plays a huge part in connecting emotional responses to personal experiences. It evokes a sense of understanding and empathy, making you feel a "tug" in you heart.
Fourth art piece: Abstract/Saddening
Results:
This art piece is the most disturbing one yet, showing a variety of different scribbles of art, depicting overwelmingness and depression. It uses harsh patterns and shapes and dark colours. The insula plays a huge factor again in this, creating that discomfort you feel when looking at it. It also makes you feel a sense of empathy or like you can feel what the artist is going through and their mental state. Since it is a kind of abstract art, it activates the prefrontal cortex for deep thinking, ACC for emotional processing, and PCC and hippocampus for personal experiences or sad memories.
Conclusion
In this project, we researched the effects of art on the mind, and how different people perceive art based on their backgrounds, age, and other variables. We also researched how humans react to different art styles and how our minds absorb the art. Based on the data collected, we concluded that humans perceive art differently and connect art with their personal experiences to make sense of what they see. We also found that various art components such as colours and lines can influence the emotions people feel when they look at it. After lots of research and a small experiment to test our hypothesis, we found that the experiment and research done supported our hypothesis. Participants in the experiment related the artworks to their experiences and had emotions ignited by the various colours and art components. In future studies, it would be more beneficial to conduct an experiment on a larger scale to have more accurate results, and more variety in the people asked. All in all, our research and experiment helped us answer our question, and showed us that understanding how the brain works makes all the differences. Knowing the information behind why you feel how you do helped us in in our experiment when explaining the why's and could help people in the future in specific fields.
Citations
Zaidel, D. W. (2010, February). Art and brain: Insights from neuropsychology, biology and evolution. Journal of anatomy. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2815940/
team, N. editorial. (2024, October 2). Vision processing in the brain: From eye to visual cortex. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/where-is-vision-processed-in-the-brain/
team, N. editorial. (2024a, September 15). Brain psychology in art: Exploring the neural foundations of creativity. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/psychology-brain-art/
Vinther, B. (2023, May 25). Art & the perception of reality. The Pointless Artist. https://www.thepointlessartist.com/post/art-and-the-perception-of-reality
Walsh, C. (2023, November 9). Harvard researcher on psychology of art. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/04/harvard-researcher-on-psychology-of-art/%C2%A0
Gural, N. (2024, November 10). Art has a powerful effect on people’s bodies and emotions, study says. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2024/02/29/art-has-a-powerful-effect-on-peoples-bodies-and-emotions-study/
Study reveals that art has a powerful effect on people’s bodies and emotions. (n.d.). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-reveals-art-powerful-effect-people.html
Sasaki, C. (n.d.). Researchers explore how we depict and perceive emotions through colour and line in visual art. University of Toronto. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/researchers-explore-how-we-depict-and-perceive-emotions-through-colour-and-line-visual-art
Elliot, A. J. (2015, April 2). Color and psychological functioning: A review of theoretical and empirical work. Frontiers in psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4383146/
Hummel Author, F. M. A. L. (2024, March 4). 10 emotionally powerful paintings. Anita Louise Art. https://anitalouiseart.com/10-emotionally-powerful-paintings/
team, N. editorial. (2024c, November 1). Most emotional art pieces: A journey through powerful visual expressions. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/most-emotional-art-pieces/