This Is Your Brain on Beauty — And It's Powerful (#252)
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What are the healing powers of the arts?
As my guest today says, many of us tend to think of the arts as either entertainment or as an escape, a luxury of some kind. But it turns out that the arts are so much more. We now have scientific proof that the arts, in its countless forms, heals our bodies and enhances our wellbeing. The arts can be used to fundamentally change and enhance people's day-to-day life.
How does the science of art enhance well-being?
What is this new science of art and aesthetics and how does it amplify our well-being? Hi, everyone. I'm Lynn Thoman, and this is Three Takeaways. On Three Takeaways, I talk with some of the world's best thinkers, business leaders, writers, politicians, newsmakers and scientists. Each episode ends with three key takeaways to help us understand the world and maybe even ourselves a little better. Today, I'm excited to be with Susan Magsumon, Executive Director of the International Arts and Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She's a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book, Your Brain on Art, How the Arts Transform Us.
I'm looking forward to learning how the arts and an aesthetic mindset transforms us and amplifies our health and well-being. Welcome, Susan, and thanks so much for joining Three Takeaways today. Thank you so much for having me, Lauren. It is my pleasure. I loved your book. Susan, can you please read aloud from the beginning of your book?
I'd be happy to. You know the transformative power of art. You've gotten lost in music, in a painting, in a movie or a play, and you felt something shift within you. You've read a book so compelling that you press it into the hands of a friend. You heard a song so moving. You listen to it over and over, memorizing every word. The arts bring joy, inspiration, well-being.
Such a wonderful quote. What happens when scientists scan the brains of healthy or well people as they experience art or music? What do they see?
What is the transformative power of music?
I will say with music, if you're a beholder of music, we see tremendous brain activity in all different lobes of the brain. And we also see a synchronicity between listeners that are listening together. So one of the things about music in particular is that we see that there is this ability to be able to be in union with each other. And we see that at concerts where people are kind of moving together. But there is an amazing opportunity for social cohesion when you're thinking about being together and experiencing music with each other. And we also see this idea around awe and possibility emerge when you're listening to something that is activating neurotransmitters that are hopeful. Not all music, not all arts make us feel good. And so this is why I say context matters. If you're in a prison and music is being played nonstop to keep you awake or to agitate you, that dissonance is also going to be something that is affecting your neurophysiology. And so I think we have to really think about the power of these different kinds of arts and to what purpose and to what impact.
It's so interesting to me, the idea that people, that their bodies, that their heartbeats can synchronize or mirror each other's if they're feeling close to somebody or close to music. That to me is fascinating. The environments around us are so critical. Can you explain the concepts of an enriched and an impoverished environment?
How do environments affect brain health?
In the 60s, there was a researcher named Marian Diamond who did the first experiments around enriched environments. What she did was create three conditions. The first was an enriched environment that had novelty and surprise and things changed. They were places for curiosity. The middle was kind of a status quo environment. The third was an impoverished environment where there was very little to rest on or to gain attention. And these three environments were created for rats. So she put the rats in these different conditions for just two weeks. And after that period of time, the rats were sacrificed. And what she saw was that in the enriched environments, the brains of the rats grew.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the healing powers of the arts?
0:02–0:29
2
How does the science of art enhance well-being?
0:29–2:28
3
What is the transformative power of music?
2:28–4:11
4
How do environments affect brain health?
4:11–5:03
5
What does an enriched environment look like?
5:03–5:42
6
What is an aesthetic mindset and why is it important?
5:42–6:32
7
How can we cultivate curiosity and exploration in our lives?
6:32–6:40
8
What are the four ingredients of an aesthetic mindset?
6:40–16:02
Speakers
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