Incredible Mind

What is neuroaesthetics? Is it simply the study of aesthetic beauty, or can neuroaesthetics help shape a more positive experience of the world around us? This special episode takes place at the Neuroaesthetics Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers Soma Chaudhuri and Vasiliki Meletaki share their knowledge and work on this intriguing topic. Due to some technical issues, the audio quality on this episode is lower than usual. For closed captioning to support your listening, you can find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/94TqfUKc4F4?si=3Sbcps7LdupOn1Xf

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:32 Defining Neuroaesthetics
• 5:18 How the brain processes aesthetics
• 12:22 How expertise impacts aesthetic experiences
• 15:00 Vasiliki’s journey to neuroaesthetics
• 16:23 Impact of the immediate environment on our well-being
• 20:34 Soma’s journey to neuroaesthetics
• 22:31 Impressions, beauty and facial anomalies
• 24:57 Social categorization and the possibility of change
• 28:03 Human definitions of beauty
• 29:13 Study on art therapy projects
• 32:03 A word of caution on “neuro” marketing and bold research headlines
• 35:24 Conclusion

Art is a widely accessible mood-booster, if we take the time to really look and reflect on an artist’s work. In this episode of Incredible Mind, Katherine Cotter, Associate Director of Research at the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at U Penn’s Positive Psychology Center, explains what happens in our brains when we look at art, what is meant by everyday creativity, and how experiencing art contributes to our sense of well being.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:22  Defining Positive Psychology
• 3:03 Katherine’s Journey to Research
• 4:14 Democratization of creativity
• 6:45  Art and the Brain
• 9:24 The ways people experience art today
• 11:19  Making a case for museums
• 15:39 What is flourishing?
• 18:03 Public Art and well-being
• 22:55 Social prescriptions for art (loneliness, dementia and more)
• 26:34-29:11 Everyday Creativity and aesthetics
• 29:12 Creativity is for everyone
• 30:24 Getting kids to enjoy museums
• 31:55 Conclusion

What's happening in your brain when you listen to music? How about when you play music? Can music heal? In this inaugural episode of Incredible Mind, host Michelle Cross Smith gets you answers from Anna Palumbo, Research Manager at NYU's Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy.

Episode Guide

• 0:00 Podcast Intro and Episode Intro
• 1:38 Anna introduces Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy
• 3:54 Playing and experiencing music during music therapy
• 6:05 Motivation for work and how Anna got into music therapy
• 9:33  Power of music + what happens in our brains when we listen to music
• 12:33 What's happening cognitively when we play music
• 14:24 About strokes and how music helps the brain heal
• 20:29 What's so special about improv?
• 25:06 Intrinsic Motivation
• 26:18 Tips for improv anxiety
• 29:41 Music, dancing and Groove
• 31:40 Advice from Anna
• 34:40 Conclusion and credits