Interview: Neuroaesthetics – where neuroscience, psychology and the arts connect
Tamar Torrance, a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland, is pioneering a fascinating neuroaesthetics study in Aotearoa New Zealand. QWB Lab Senior Consultant Linda Gilbert not only interviewed her about the study, she is also a study participant (as you can see in the slightly scary looking picture).
Neuroaesthetics is a field that merges neuroscience, psychology, and the arts to explore how our brains respond to art in different settings. Linda is exploring what insights neuroaesthetics can offer about how engaging with art contributes to our wellbeing.
Linda Gilbert (LG): Thanks for your time and for accepting me onto the study as an artist participant! Can you summarise your PhD research for our readers?
Tamar Torrance (TT): Of course. The study aims to enhance our understanding of the emotional, cognitive, and sensory processes that inform our perception and reception of visual art. I’m examining responses to a set of visual artworks in three different settings. The first is a controlled lab setting where participants view the works digitally. As you experienced, each participant wears an EEG cap, sensors on their fingers, and an ECG monitor. Wired up, they are asked to view and respond to a set of questions about each artwork. The second round will use the same monitoring setup but take place within Auckland Art Gallery where participants can actually see the art in person. The third setting will be done via virtual reality headsets. So we are looking across digital, reality, and virtual reality settings. There are 40 participants representing two cohorts. The first group are artists, and the second group are non-artists. There is a mix of ages, genders, and cultures within each cohort. I am looking at their embodied reactions through the monitoring of their heart, sweat gland, and brain activity. I am interested in differences between the cohorts, as well as differences found across the three settings.
LG: How far are you into the study?
TT: It’s still early days. We have 40 participants, and I have completed the screen study and have begun collecting data at Auckland Art Gallery. I expect the study to continue for another year. As we proceed, I will be writing individual papers based on the preliminary findings, culminating with the presentation of my thesis.
LG: I have read the book called 'Your Brain on Art' by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross (2023). In what ways will your study extend or add to their findings on how the arts have the power to transform our brains and enhance wellbeing?
TT: I actually wrote a review for that book last year and it has informed a lot of the ways I think about applying neuroaesthetics research. It really brought the field of neuroaesthetics out of the lab and into the public domain. As a new field, there are gaps in what we know. Science tends to measure individual elements of the brain, but I am interested in a multifaceted approach. The brain is a highly interconnected and dynamic system that is in constant communication with itself and its environment through the body. This tells a different story from describing the brain and body as functionally separate entities that behave in modular ways. I’m measuring both physiological and neurobiological reactions to see how they reflect underlying sensory perceptual, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of aesthetic response. A more holistic approach may give us a better understanding of how the body and brain change when we encounter art, which we can then harness in therapeutic and educational settings.
LG: Does the flow state that artists, athletes, and other high achievers experience relate to the work you are doing?
TT: Flow is a deep state of immersion where the sense of self becomes secondary to the experience. Your ego dissolves, time and space become irrelevant, and you are totally absorbed by the task at hand. Some researchers liken aesthetic experience to a kind of flow state where curiosity and wonder flourish. This matters on a human level because it is where inspiration strikes, new ideas emerge, and creativity is cultivated. I’m interested to understand more about the physiological and neural responses that occur at these times. So yes, it is very relevant to my research.
LG: Regarding wellbeing, can you discuss how neuroaesthetics may contribute to individual and social wellbeing?
TT: To me, embodied responses are primary. Your body is how the outside world makes contact with your brain. It’s like an antenna picking up signals and sending them on. But it’s not just relaying the message, it’s shaping how you actually feel and understand what’s going on. When looking at art, you experience it physically and then mentally. This is something we don’t always recognise because it is so subtle. In this way, the arts, as rich experiences that enliven our senses, can have profound impacts on the way we think and feel. As Magsamen and Ross said: ‘The arts have the ability to transform you like nothing else. They can help move you from sickness to health, stress to calm, or sadness to joy, and they enable you to flourish and thrive. They can lead you to profound altered states, changing your very physiology.’ I hope that my research will add to the scientific basis of these claims. I suspect this is what many artists already know, intuitively.
LG: Thank you very much for outlining your exciting research. I look forward to catching up with you about the next phase once you have analysed some of the data.
Interview: Neuroaesthetics – where neuroscience, psychology and the arts connect
Tamar Torrance, a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland, is pioneering a fascinating neuroaesthetics study in Aotearoa New Zealand. QWB Lab Senior Consultant Linda Gilbert not only interviewed her about the study, she is also a study participant (as you can see in the slightly scary looking picture).
Neuroaesthetics is a field that merges neuroscience, psychology, and the arts to explore how our brains respond to art in different settings. Linda is exploring what insights neuroaesthetics can offer about how engaging with art contributes to our wellbeing.
Linda Gilbert (LG): Thanks for your time and for accepting me onto the study as an artist participant! Can you summarise your PhD research for our readers?
Tamar Torrance (TT): Of course. The study aims to enhance our understanding of the emotional, cognitive, and sensory processes that inform our perception and reception of visual art. I’m examining responses to a set of visual artworks in three different settings. The first is a controlled lab setting where participants view the works digitally. As you experienced, each participant wears an EEG cap, sensors on their fingers, and an ECG monitor. Wired up, they are asked to view and respond to a set of questions about each artwork. The second round will use the same monitoring setup but take place within Auckland Art Gallery where participants can actually see the art in person. The third setting will be done via virtual reality headsets. So we are looking across digital, reality, and virtual reality settings. There are 40 participants representing two cohorts. The first group are artists, and the second group are non-artists. There is a mix of ages, genders, and cultures within each cohort. I am looking at their embodied reactions through the monitoring of their heart, sweat gland, and brain activity. I am interested in differences between the cohorts, as well as differences found across the three settings.
LG: How far are you into the study?
TT: It’s still early days. We have 40 participants, and I have completed the screen study and have begun collecting data at Auckland Art Gallery. I expect the study to continue for another year. As we proceed, I will be writing individual papers based on the preliminary findings, culminating with the presentation of my thesis.
LG: I have read the book called 'Your Brain on Art' by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross (2023). In what ways will your study extend or add to their findings on how the arts have the power to transform our brains and enhance wellbeing?
TT: I actually wrote a review for that book last year and it has informed a lot of the ways I think about applying neuroaesthetics research. It really brought the field of neuroaesthetics out of the lab and into the public domain. As a new field, there are gaps in what we know. Science tends to measure individual elements of the brain, but I am interested in a multifaceted approach. The brain is a highly interconnected and dynamic system that is in constant communication with itself and its environment through the body. This tells a different story from describing the brain and body as functionally separate entities that behave in modular ways. I’m measuring both physiological and neurobiological reactions to see how they reflect underlying sensory perceptual, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of aesthetic response. A more holistic approach may give us a better understanding of how the body and brain change when we encounter art, which we can then harness in therapeutic and educational settings.
LG: Does the flow state that artists, athletes, and other high achievers experience relate to the work you are doing?
TT: Flow is a deep state of immersion where the sense of self becomes secondary to the experience. Your ego dissolves, time and space become irrelevant, and you are totally absorbed by the task at hand. Some researchers liken aesthetic experience to a kind of flow state where curiosity and wonder flourish. This matters on a human level because it is where inspiration strikes, new ideas emerge, and creativity is cultivated. I’m interested to understand more about the physiological and neural responses that occur at these times. So yes, it is very relevant to my research.
LG: Regarding wellbeing, can you discuss how neuroaesthetics may contribute to individual and social wellbeing?
TT: To me, embodied responses are primary. Your body is how the outside world makes contact with your brain. It’s like an antenna picking up signals and sending them on. But it’s not just relaying the message, it’s shaping how you actually feel and understand what’s going on. When looking at art, you experience it physically and then mentally. This is something we don’t always recognise because it is so subtle. In this way, the arts, as rich experiences that enliven our senses, can have profound impacts on the way we think and feel. As Magsamen and Ross said: ‘The arts have the ability to transform you like nothing else. They can help move you from sickness to health, stress to calm, or sadness to joy, and they enable you to flourish and thrive. They can lead you to profound altered states, changing your very physiology.’ I hope that my research will add to the scientific basis of these claims. I suspect this is what many artists already know, intuitively.
LG: Thank you very much for outlining your exciting research. I look forward to catching up with you about the next phase once you have analysed some of the data.
Interview: Neuroaesthetics – where neuroscience, psychology and the arts connect
Tamar Torrance, a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland, is pioneering a fascinating neuroaesthetics study in Aotearoa New Zealand. QWB Lab Senior Consultant Linda Gilbert not only interviewed her about the study, she is also a study participant (as you can see in the slightly scary looking picture).
Neuroaesthetics is a field that merges neuroscience, psychology, and the arts to explore how our brains respond to art in different settings. Linda is exploring what insights neuroaesthetics can offer about how engaging with art contributes to our wellbeing.
Linda Gilbert (LG): Thanks for your time and for accepting me onto the study as an artist participant! Can you summarise your PhD research for our readers?
Tamar Torrance (TT): Of course. The study aims to enhance our understanding of the emotional, cognitive, and sensory processes that inform our perception and reception of visual art. I’m examining responses to a set of visual artworks in three different settings. The first is a controlled lab setting where participants view the works digitally. As you experienced, each participant wears an EEG cap, sensors on their fingers, and an ECG monitor. Wired up, they are asked to view and respond to a set of questions about each artwork. The second round will use the same monitoring setup but take place within Auckland Art Gallery where participants can actually see the art in person. The third setting will be done via virtual reality headsets. So we are looking across digital, reality, and virtual reality settings. There are 40 participants representing two cohorts. The first group are artists, and the second group are non-artists. There is a mix of ages, genders, and cultures within each cohort. I am looking at their embodied reactions through the monitoring of their heart, sweat gland, and brain activity. I am interested in differences between the cohorts, as well as differences found across the three settings.
LG: How far are you into the study?
TT: It’s still early days. We have 40 participants, and I have completed the screen study and have begun collecting data at Auckland Art Gallery. I expect the study to continue for another year. As we proceed, I will be writing individual papers based on the preliminary findings, culminating with the presentation of my thesis.
LG: I have read the book called 'Your Brain on Art' by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross (2023). In what ways will your study extend or add to their findings on how the arts have the power to transform our brains and enhance wellbeing?
TT: I actually wrote a review for that book last year and it has informed a lot of the ways I think about applying neuroaesthetics research. It really brought the field of neuroaesthetics out of the lab and into the public domain. As a new field, there are gaps in what we know. Science tends to measure individual elements of the brain, but I am interested in a multifaceted approach. The brain is a highly interconnected and dynamic system that is in constant communication with itself and its environment through the body. This tells a different story from describing the brain and body as functionally separate entities that behave in modular ways. I’m measuring both physiological and neurobiological reactions to see how they reflect underlying sensory perceptual, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of aesthetic response. A more holistic approach may give us a better understanding of how the body and brain change when we encounter art, which we can then harness in therapeutic and educational settings.
LG: Does the flow state that artists, athletes, and other high achievers experience relate to the work you are doing?
TT: Flow is a deep state of immersion where the sense of self becomes secondary to the experience. Your ego dissolves, time and space become irrelevant, and you are totally absorbed by the task at hand. Some researchers liken aesthetic experience to a kind of flow state where curiosity and wonder flourish. This matters on a human level because it is where inspiration strikes, new ideas emerge, and creativity is cultivated. I’m interested to understand more about the physiological and neural responses that occur at these times. So yes, it is very relevant to my research.
LG: Regarding wellbeing, can you discuss how neuroaesthetics may contribute to individual and social wellbeing?
TT: To me, embodied responses are primary. Your body is how the outside world makes contact with your brain. It’s like an antenna picking up signals and sending them on. But it’s not just relaying the message, it’s shaping how you actually feel and understand what’s going on. When looking at art, you experience it physically and then mentally. This is something we don’t always recognise because it is so subtle. In this way, the arts, as rich experiences that enliven our senses, can have profound impacts on the way we think and feel. As Magsamen and Ross said: ‘The arts have the ability to transform you like nothing else. They can help move you from sickness to health, stress to calm, or sadness to joy, and they enable you to flourish and thrive. They can lead you to profound altered states, changing your very physiology.’ I hope that my research will add to the scientific basis of these claims. I suspect this is what many artists already know, intuitively.
LG: Thank you very much for outlining your exciting research. I look forward to catching up with you about the next phase once you have analysed some of the data.
