Neuroimaging Studies Suggest a Link Between Art and Happiness

In the mid-20th century, artist Margaret Naumburg came up with the concept of art as symbolic speech, and founded the field of art psychotherapy, based largely on the writings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (Borowsky Junge, 2016). The American Art Therapy Association dates back to the late 1960s, with the spectrum of art therapy growing to include several other psychotherapeutic approaches, along with ‘art for art’s sake’ strategies such as the open studio (Borowsky Junge, 2016). Today, art therapy is a licensed profession, which exists along with other integrative behavioral health modalities in integrated health care settings.

Still, the quest for scientific proof of art’s efficacy as a mental health treatment modality remained. Beginning around the turn of the 21st century, an answer began to emerge from neuroimaging studies, suggesting that the very act of engaging in art stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable feelings. The concept behind these studies was by no means new, dating back to Gustav Fechner’s “aesthetics from below” theories of the late 19th century,. Fechner theorized that aesthetic experience emerges when sensory observations reach a threshold for pleasure. Daniel Berlyn’s work in the late 20th’s century, suggested that top-down cognitive processes in the prefrontal cortex also contribute to aesthetic judgement and pleasure (Nadal & Vartanian, 2022). Fechner’s theories and the work that followed gave birth to the field of empirical aesthetics.

Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies have found evidence that engaging with art activates the brain’s so-called “Reward Network,” which controls the release of the dopamine. Readers involved in the study of substance use disorders are familiar with brain structures such as the Ventral Tegmental Area and Nucleus Accumbens, both of which are involved in the transmission of dopamine through the mesolimbic pathway, which also includes the Amygdala, responsible for the creation of emotional memories. Imaging studies also suggest that areas of the prefrontal cortex, including the orbital and medial PFC, are part of the Reward Network. These areas also receive input from the vision system, as first proposed by Berlyn in his theories of aesthetic experience (Skov, 2022).

Observational and experimental studies support the idea that both art therapy and art making can be effective adjuncts to pharmacotherapy in the management of chronic pain and emotional distress, defined as stress, anxiety and depression (Collette et al., 2022). Uses of art therapy and art making range from highly structured programs delivered by art therapists to simple art making interventions supported by art educators from the community. While art may not be able to resolve a viral or bacterial infection, it can help patients develop the motivation to manage their chronic medical conditions in order to achieve a better quality of life.

References

Borowsky Junge (2016). History of art therapy. In D.E. Gussak & M.L. Rosal (Eds.). The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy (pp. 7-16). John Wiley & Sons, Malden, MA. http://www.wiley.com

Collette, N., Sola, I., Bonfill, X & Pascual, A. (2022). Art therapy in advanced cancer: a mapping review of the evidence. Current Oncology Reports, 24, 1715-1730. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s11912-022-01321-0

Nadal, M. & Vartanian, O. (2022). Empirical aesthetics, an overview. In M. Nadal & O. Vartanian (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 3-38). Oxford University Press, Croydon, U.K. http://www.oup.com

Skov, M. (2022). The neurobiology of sensory valuation. In In M. Nadal & O. Vartanian (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 150-182). Oxford University Press, Croydon, U.K. http://www.oup.com

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (2021). What does it mean to be human? Earliest discovered cave painting. https://humanorigins.si.edu/research/whats-hot-human-origins/earliest-discovered-cave-painting