Beauty and the Brain
Research team
We continue our experiments on the visual brain and its organization. Perhaps the most significant of our findings relates to the demonstration, using magneto-encephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, that all visual areas, including ones specialized for objects and faces, receive very fast latency inputs, at about 35-45 ms after stimulus onset. This may necessitate a revision of the interpretation commonly given to how visual signals, especially those related to form and to faces, are processed. In addition, we are pursuing experiments on how visual inputs trigger an affective, aesthetic and emotional experience, concentrating in particular on the experience of beauty, desire and love.
