Aesthetic Experience and the Motor System: The Link Between Motor Inhibition and the Perception of Beauty

Neuroaesthetics explores how the brain perceives and appreciates art and beauty, merging neuroscience with aesthetics. The Stopping for knowledge hypothesis proposes a model for aesthetic experiences, suggesting that encountering beauty enhances attention and updates mental representations. This process involves motor inhibition and reallocating cognitive resources to improve perception and generate aesthetic pleasure, encouraging further exploration. This thesis will present three experiments in which we focus on the motor contributions during the aesthetic experiences. In the first experiment, a detection task, reaction times during the view of black-and-white photographs of natural landscapes were tested. The pictures were rated from each participant and stimuli were divided between Preferred and Non-Preferred. In the second experiment, a Go-NoGo task, the same stimuli were presented. Reaction times and EEG signals were recorded for each participant. Participants rated the pictures, which were then categorised as Preferred or Non-Preferred stimuli. In the third experiment, an I&I task, participants had to move their index or middle finger in response to a number or an image. During the task, they listened to either the Original or Reverse version of a Mozart symphony and provided their aesthetic judgment of the musical piece. Reaction times and accuracy were measured for each participant. Experiments 1 and 2 found that reaction times were slower after participants contemplated referred images than Non-Preferred ones, supporting the Stopping for knowledge hypothesis. Additionally, the electrophysiological analysis revealed an increase in motor preparation (Bereitschaftspotential) during the contemplation of Non-Preferred stimuli, while this was reduced for Preferred images. In contrast, the results of the third experiment did not align with the findings from the first two, possibly due to the different complexity of the task.