neuroaesthetics

we perceive electromagnetic waves...

...within a specific interval

order towards retinal stimulus

illumination, reflectance, and transmittance

problems due to the physical nature of electromagnetic waves

illumination, reflectance, and transmittance

define illumination

different intensity, different wavelengths, different inclination

define reflectance

light can be absorbed in different ways due to the objects nature, reflectance may occur at different angles

define transmittance

reflected light may change due to its trajectory, e.g. humidity, competition light sources that disturb trajectory length

visual field of left eye

temporal half of left retina, optic nerve, optic tract, and optic radiation

visual field of right eye

temporal half of right retina, optic chiasma, lateral geniculate body, occipital cortex; occipital to parietal to frontal

object processing

ventral stream aka "what" stream; color, texture, pictorial detail, shape, and size; occipital to temporal to frontal

spatial processing

Doral stream aka "where" stream; location, movement, spatial transformations, spatial relations

what are photo-receptors

they contain light-absorbing chemicals - pigments - that generate a neural signal when they absorb light

what are phot-receptors made up of

three types of cones and one type of rod

what are the three types of cones

long, middle, and short wavelength cones

what does it mean if the photo-receptors are analog

their response increases with increasing amounts of light

What are rods used for

used in very dim light. can only signal how much light there is

purpose of retinal ganglion cells

luminance and color are distinguished

What happens with pigments change

it initiates a chemical reaction that results in an ion channel opening

define rods

used for scotopic vision, light sensitive, loss causes blindness, low visual activity, have more pigments than cones, 120 million cones across the retina

define cones

used for photopic vision, not very sensitive to light, high visual activity, concentrated in the fovea

define luminance

we see luminance summing the different cone response and rod responses

define color

we see color by subtracting the different cone responses

What were gusto fenchers focus

the analysis of elemental perceptual features and preference judgments for basic shapes and for colors

empirical approaches

through understanding of the basic elements of aesthetics, you can build a general understanding of the perceptual qualities that drive our aesthetic experiences

bottom-up approach

empirical approach; basic sensory features to more complex representations

three people under gestalt psychology

wax wertheimer, kurt koffka, and Wolfgang kohler

what does gestalt psychology establish

establish an holistic approach to perception and considered the visual scene as an organized grouping of features, that perceptions could not be dissected into basic elements

what is the gestalt credo

the whole is different from the sum of its parts

define prananz

the notion that we organize perceptions on the simplest interpretations

what does pregnant acknowledge

that the perceptual world is ambiguous and illusory

law of proximity

things closer together appear to be more related than things farther apart

law of similarity

when things appear to be similar we tend to think they have the same function

law of continuity

elements arranged on a line or curve are perceived to be more related than elements not on a line or curve

law of closure

we view a complex arrangement of visual elements, we look for a single recognizable pattern, an image with missing parts your brain will fill in the gap

law of symmetry

we perceive objects as symmetrical shapes the form around their center

how does Rudolph Arnheim describe paintings

with respect to the perceptual forces that the artists induce through balance, harmony, and object placement

what was Daniel berlyne interested in

how art influences the beholders emotions.

what did Daniel berlyne believe in

optimally pleasing artworks are those that create some arousal or psychological tension but not so much that they become disturbing

what are collative properties, psychological arousal/emotional experiences are drive by?

novelty, complexity, surprisingness, uncertainty, and incongruity

what does beeline's model explain

it explain why's individuals differ in their appreciation of artworks and how appreciation can change over time

define cognitive science

it seeks to understand mental processes such as perception, memory, language, emotion, and reasoning

what dose cognitive science incorporate

incorporates findings and perspectives from philosophy, computer science, anthropology, linguistics, and neuroscience

analogy from cognitive scientist

the mind as a computational mechanism that manipulates information and has its own input, storage, and output devices

define information processing approach

how sensory signals act as information that is encoded, interpreted, and represented

top-down processing

refers to the use of knowledge to direct what we percieve

what was ernst gombrich interested in

interested in top-down processing and considered an integral part of aesthetic experience

why was the book art and illusions main argument

that an artist begins not with his visual impression but with his idea or concept

define schemas

all art is illusory and we must build an interpretation of what an artwork represents based on existing knowledge

define aesthetic

the science of beauty, of liberal arts, the art of thinking beautifully

define Neuroaesthetics

a discipline dealing with the biological underpinnings of aesthetic experience

a work of art is not complete...

...without the beholders perceptual and emotional involvement

Epson's definition of ambiguity

when alternative viewpoints can be adopted without any real misinterpretation

artists create works of art...

...beholders recreate them responding to an intrinsic ambiguity, what changes is the degree of this contribution

gestalt

pattern

nervous tissue made up of

nervous cells or neurons and glial cells

nervous tissue and neurons function

proces and transmit electrical pulses

characteristics of nervous tissue and neurons

electrically excitable and widely interconnected

the classifications of neurons

multipolar, pseudounipolar, bipolar, and unipolar

multipolar neuron

the most common one

pseudo unipolar neuron

sensitive ganglia

bipolar neuron

retina, vestibular ganglion, and olfactory mucose

unipolar neuron

very rare

sensitive neurons

specialized in receiving sensory impulses and dendrites and send them t the SNC for processing

motor neurons

originate in SNC, send impulses to organs and cells (muscular, glandular and other nervous cells)

dendrites

conduct the nervous impulse in a centripetal way towards the soma

axons

conduct the nervous impulse in a centrifugal way away from the soma

neurons may have...

...many dendrites but one axon at the max

neuron - fundamental constituents

dendrite, nucleus, axon, soma/cell body, myelin sheat, terminal arborization

neuronal membrane

barrier, soma's proteins are different from dendrites proteins

cytoskeleton

the structure on which the neuronal membrane rests; components are: microtubules, microfilaments, neurofillaments

dendrites functions

functionally and morphologically they are expansions of the soma, shorter than axons, irregular contours

synapses may be:

electrical (gap junctions0 transmit electrical stimuli or chemical that transform electrical stimuli in chemical ones

how do neurons communicate

through action potentials

what do action potentials depend on

the existence of a resting potential and the presence of specific ion channels

parts of the central nervous system

brain and the spinal cord

parts of the peripheral nervous system

ganglion and nerve

right brain functions

art awareness, creativity, imagination, intuition, insight, holistic thought, music awareness, 3-D forms, left-hand control

left brain functions

analytic thought, logic, language, science and math

frontal lobes functions

executive functioning, moral reasoning, motor control, planning future actions, and. regulating emotions

parietal lobe functions

tactical sensations, attention, perceptual image of the body; spatial relationship with the environment

occipital lobe functions

visual information processing

temporal lobe functions

interpretation of visual information and auditory information, conscious retrieval of memories, memory and emotional experiences

hippocampus functions

coding and retrieval of short term memory, consolidation of information from short term to long term memory, spatial awareness, declarative memories

amigdala functions

music director of emotional life, coordinates emotional state with hormonal and vegetative responses, mediates with pre-frontal cortex emotional influence on cognitive processes

thalamus

access of sensory informations except the olfactory sensations

lateral geniculate nucleus

a specialized part of the thalamus that is part of the visual pathway relaying information from the retina to the primary visual cortex

basal ganglia

learned movements and aspects of cognition

striatus

most external region of the ganglia, rewards and expectation

hypothalamus

regulates many vital functions such as heart-beat and blood pressure, as well as the release of hormones

visual brain

eye to optic nerve to lateral geniculate nucleus to visual cortex

Francis circa believed

"The information contained in a computer memory is
not an image but it symbolizes and image. A symbol is
something that stands for something else, just like a word
does. [...] A traffic light symbolizes "stop". Clearly, what we
expect to find in the brain is some sort of symbolic
representation of a visual scene"

Chris firth believed

"What I perceive are the raw and ambigous data
that get to my eyes, ears and fingers from the
external world. I perceive something that is
much richer that combines these raw signals
with a huge quan9ty of past experiences [...]
Our percep9on of the world is a fantasy that
coincides with reality"

visual pathways

retina towards th lateral geniculate nucleus, towards the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe towards around 30 different areas in the occipital, temporal, and frontal lobes

"what" pathway

from the occipital towards the temporal lobe which processes information on what has to be seen, color information, recognition of objects, body and face

"where' pathway

from the occipital towards the parietal lobe, it processes information on the location of objects

the mimetic approach

art is mimesis, art is the imitation of reality

Aristotle

defines art as a form of mimemis, views it as a natural form of pleasure

we can learn from art as...

...an imitation of reality

art can...

...depict and rarify essential universals of the human condition

the expressionist approach

perceiving with feeling

Leo tolstoy: what is art

he argued the essential success of an artwork is the degree to which the artist is able to communicate their feelings to the beholder