How art changes your brain: differential effects of visual art production and cognitive art evaluation on functional brain connectivity

Anne Bolwerk, Jessica Mack-Andrick, Frieder R Lang, Arnd Dörfler, Christian Maihöfner, Anne Bolwerk, Jessica Mack-Andrick, Frieder R Lang, Arnd Dörfler, Christian Maihöfner

Abstract

Visual art represents a powerful resource for mental and physical well-being. However, little is known about the underlying effects at a neural level. A critical question is whether visual art production and cognitive art evaluation may have different effects on the functional interplay of the brain's default mode network (DMN). We used fMRI to investigate the DMN of a non-clinical sample of 28 post-retirement adults (63.71 years ±3.52 SD) before (T0) and after (T1) weekly participation in two different 10-week-long art interventions. Participants were randomly assigned to groups stratified by gender and age. In the visual art production group 14 participants actively produced art in an art class. In the cognitive art evaluation group 14 participants cognitively evaluated artwork at a museum. The DMN of both groups was identified by using a seed voxel correlation analysis (SCA) in the posterior cingulated cortex (PCC/preCUN). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to relate fMRI data to psychological resilience which was measured with the brief German counterpart of the Resilience Scale (RS-11). We observed that the visual art production group showed greater spatial improvement in functional connectivity of PCC/preCUN to the frontal and parietal cortices from T0 to T1 than the cognitive art evaluation group. Moreover, the functional connectivity in the visual art production group was related to psychological resilience (i.e., stress resistance) at T1. Our findings are the first to demonstrate the neural effects of visual art production on psychological resilience in adulthood.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. The default mode network (DMN).
Figure 1. The default mode network (DMN).
Brain regions that show significant functional connectivity of the PCC/preCUN in: (A) visual art production group (B) cognitive art evaluation group at pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention at 10 weeks (T1), and contrast T1 (red) >T0 (blue). PCC/preCUN used in each group is shown on the left and right sides.
Figure 2. The visual cortex (VisCx).
Figure 2. The visual cortex (VisCx).
Brain regions that show significant functional connectivity of VisCx in: (A) visual art production group (B) cognitive art evaluation group. VisCx used in each group is shown on the left and right sides.
Figure 3. The sensorimotor cortex (S1/M1).
Figure 3. The sensorimotor cortex (S1/M1).
Brain regions that show significant functional connectivity of S1/M1 in: (A) visual art production group (B) cognitive art evaluation group at pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention at 10 weeks (T1), and contrast T0 (blue) >T1 (red). S1/M1 used in each group is shown on the left side.
Figure 4. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Figure 4. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Covariations between DMN and resilience in the visual art production group at post-intervention (T1). Red – positive correlation; Blue – negative correlation. (A) Covariation between right PCC/preCUN and resilience at T1 (B) Covariation between left PCC/preCUN and resilience at T1.

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Source: PubMed

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