Recommended readings

Recent debates about the scientific approach to understanding art can be found in Zeki (1999), Hutton and Kelly (2013), Pearce et al. (2016), and Bullot (2019).

Semir Seki's TED talk about beauty and the brain can be viewed here.

Cavanagh (2005) offers an accessible evaluation of the close links between neuroscience and art.

Relevant research on handedness can be found in Lanthony (1995), Corballis (2014). and van der Feen et al. (2019).

Read these articles for detailed clinical case studies of the effects of brain damage on art: Cohen et al. (1994), Wapner et al. (1978), Mendez (2004) and Rankin et al. (2007).

To read about research on the large-scale brain networks that underpin art production and evaluation, go to Ellamil et al. (2012) and Vessel et al. (2012).

The brain areas involved in aesthetic judgements were investigated by Ishizu and Zeki (2013) and Vartanian and Skov (2014).

The quote in the text about the brain's reward system was taken from Montague and Berns (2002). 'Core affects' (emotions) are discussed in Barrett et al. (2006).


Additional material

New material will appear here as I find it.