the what and where pathways in the brain

It is quite amazing to think about how specialized the brain is for processing visual information. Color and movement are processed in different parts of the visual system.

Thoughts on neuroesthetics: Portraits and the brain

Zeki, S. (1999). Inner vision: An exploration of art and the brain. New York: NY:
Oxford University Press.

Gallese, V. (2009). Mirror neurons, embodies simulation, and the neural basis of
social identification. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 19, 519-536.

Livingstone, M. (2002). Vision and art: The biology of seeing. New York, NY: Harry N.
Abrams.

Neuroesthetics proposes that structures in the brain correspond with the various visual, psychological, and emotional impacts evoked by works of art. For example, Zeki (1995), noted how “Portrait painting has acquired its dominance at least in part because the brain has devoted a whole cortical region to face recognition” (p. 167). The ability to recognize and respond to faces has been widely documented as central to our species survival and empathy. Gallese (2009), cited research that has found deficits in brain regions associated with face recognition and emotional appraisal of individuals with autism.
Thus portraits are important to the viewer because it is evolutionary beneficial for humans to be able to respond to facial cues and recognize family members, etc. The evolutionary importance of this task is reflected in the structural organization of the brain. As Zeki noted (1999), “We cannot ignore the fact that the brain has devoted an entire area to the recognition of faces whereas no one had uncovered a brain region that is specific to shoulders” (p. 169-170). Zeki noted how portraits achieve their impact because “the brain associates certain features with certain mental states and psychological traits” (p. 170-171). Lesion studies have found that damage to the fusiform gyrus (located in the temporal lobes) can result in a disorder called prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize faces. Losing the ability to process an element of a visual scene is not limited to face recognition. For example, additional damage to the temporal region results in the inability to process color, a disorder called achromatopsia (Zeki). Thus an individual with achromatopsia can experience loss of color vision despite having fully intact rods and cones. In addition, damage to the parietal lobes can result in the loss of the ability to process movement. In her excellent book, Vision and art: The biology of seeing, Livingstone (2002) described the following scenario:
"The neurologist Josef Zihl recently described a stroke victim who had bilateral damage in her parietal lobe that apparently selectively affected just her motion perception. She said it was as if the world were entirely static. She had trouble crossing streets because she could not judge the speed of approaching cars: 'When I’m looking at the car first, it seems far away. But then, when I want to cross the road,” she reported, “suddenly the car is very near'. She eventually learned to estimate the distance by their sound. She had trouble pouring a cup of tea, because the fluid appeared frozen, like a glacier. What’s more, she could not stop pouring at the right time since she was unable to perceive the rising level of the tea in the cup". ( p. 65)

research updates

So it is official! I am analyzing my data and working toward a larger N.
Back to the lab in the Spring I hope for more participants!