Art News

Leading Neuroscientist Says ‘Viewing Art Like Being in Love’

LONDON.- The conclusion of a recent experiment monitoring what happens in our brains when we view art says that it is more than just good for your health – and can have a big impact on the nation’s happiness. In a series of pioneering brain-mapping experiments, Semir Zeki, Professor of Neurobiology and Neuroaesthetics at University College London, has revealed that viewing art can give just as much pleasure as being in love. Zeki concluded that viewing art triggers a surge of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine into the orbito-frontal cortex of the brain, resulting in feelings of intense pleasure. “There have been very significant new advances in our understanding of what happens in our brains when we look at works of art,” said Zeki. ‘We have recently found that when we look at things we consider to be beautiful, there is increased activity in the pleasure reward centres of the brain. Essentially, the fe