Neuroaesthetics of dance Patrick Haggard Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience University College...

Neuroaesthetics of dance

Patrick HaggardInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience

University College London

Funding: Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, EU, Wellcome Trust, ESRCColleagues: Beatriz Calvo, Daniel Glaser, Corinne Jola, Dick Passingham, Deborah

Bull, Emma Maguire, Tom Sapsford, Shantel Ehrenberg, Elena Daprati, Marco Iosa, Paolo D’Oto

Dance requires:

• Performer

• Observer

• (Possible other stuff)

Disclaimer 1: Observer Approach

Dance requires:

• Performer

• Observer I will focus here!

• (Possible other stuff)

Disclaimer 1: Observer Approach

Disclaimer 2: Scientific Approach

Advantages

• Simplify• Measure• Explain• Predict

Disadvantages

• More than sum of parts• Misses the subjective

element, what “I” feel• Culture-bound

Observe, clarify, hypothesise, but also appreciateReduce, but also respect

Study of something’s:

• Artistic or potential artistic value:

• Beauty

• Ability to induce a range of mental states, including pleasure, various emotions, awe etc.

Aesthetics: Definition

Study of something’s:

• Artistic or potential artistic value: Definition by practice

• BeautyDefinition by objective properties

• Ability to induce a range of mental states, including pleasure, various emotions, awe etc.Definition by mental effects

Aesthetics: Definition

1. Aesthetic preference

2. Brain basis of aesthetic judgement

3. Aesthetic drivers of artistic change

Roadmap

• Objectivist/Platonist aesthetics– Intrinsic aesthetic value– Aesthetics is a property of things

• Subjectivist/relativist aesthetics– No intrinsic aesthetic value– Only personal liking– Aesthetics is not a property of things, but of how

we see things

• Aesthetic preference: Which do you like most?

• Universal application, high face validity

• Low explanatory value and efficiency:does not say why you like it?

• Subjectivists: express personal aesthetic taste

• Objectivists: find universal preferences

• Preference judgements give experimental control

Golden section:1.618 : 1

• “Balance”

• Aesthetic value depends on configurations, relations between parts and wholes

Aesthetic preference: balance

Balance(McManus et al., 1985)

GroupA

GroupB

Balance

GroupA

GroupB

Balance

GroupA

GroupB

Balance

Some body configurations may be especially pleasing

Dance aesthetics may reflect a structured visual pattern

Dance may exploit basic brain mechanisms of pattern perception

• Familiar things are preferred to unfamiliar

• Basis of aesthetic subjectivity:– Different previous experience, different evaluation– Basis of cultural relativism aestheticism

• Exploration vs. exploitation

• Challenge for artists

Aesthetic Preference: “Mere exposure”

Ballet Capoeira

Non-expert

Non-expertSubjects

Ballet dancers

Capoeira dancers

Expert

Non-expert controls Non-expert Non-expert

Calvo-Merino et al., Cerebral Cortex, 2005

Ballet Capoeira

Aesthetic preference for dance movesCalvo-Merino et al., Consciousness and Cognition, in review

Non-expert

Non-expertSubjects

Ballet dancers

Capoeira dancers

Expert

• 6 naïve subjects, retested after brain scanning• 24 ballet and capoiera moves• “How much do you like this move?” (1-5)• Which brain areas correlate with average liking?

Neural correlates of liking

a b• Bilateral Visual• Right premotor

• “embodied”aesthetics?

“Neurotargeting”- Project neuroaesthetic activations back into stimulus space

• People disliked this, right premotor cortex inactive

• People liked this, right premotor cortex active

• Neural correlates of average preferences

• Key parameters for liking:– Overall amount of movement– Jumping

• Future work:– More people, more brain areas– Other aesthetic dimensions beyond liking– Neural correlates of liking in experts?

Aesthetic preferences: conclusion

Roadmap

Brain basis of aesthetic judgement

• Pure dance movement stimuli

• Point-light display

• Sequence of two dance moves

• Aesthetic preference task

• “Which move do you prefer?

“Same or different?”

“Which one do you prefer?”

• What brain circuits underlie aesthetic evaluation?

• What brain circuits underlie aesthetic evaluation?• Are these circuits influenced by experience?

Naïve subjects Expertdancers

Results

Aesthetic preference -Visual discrimination

BExpert dancers

Naïve subjects

L&R parietal:Attention?Mirror system?Sensory cortex?

R temporal:Memory?

Results

Aesthetic preference -Visual discrimination

BExpert dancers

Naïve subjects

L&R parietal:Attention?Mirror system?Sensory cortex?

R temporal:Memory?

• Aesthetic network:– attention and embodied feeling (SI)

• Clear expertise effects– dancers’ aesthetic judgements are

based on reference memory– internal stored representation of a

perfect pirouette?

Conclusions

• Aesthetic appreciation can be learned, and taught

• Brain basis for ‘connoisseurship’

• Explains effects of culture and familiarity

Implications

Roadmap

Aesthetic geometry

• Balance and pattern central to aesthetic preference

• Body ‘line’ in dance may be an aesthetic pattern

• Historical evolution of body line– Royal Ballet archive 1942-2004

• Fixed position in choreography– Developpe, arabesque etc – Rose Adagio, Sleeping beauty

ANATOMICAL REFERENCES AND DERIVED STIMULI

B. Schematic Figures

Right finger tip

Right Toe

Left finger tip

Left toe

A. Location of markers and segments

finger tip

elbowshoulder

sternum

forehead

tip of the toes

ANATOMICAL REFERENCES AND DERIVED STIMULI

B. Schematic Figures

Right finger tip

Right Toe

Left finger tip

Left toe

A. Location of markers and segments

finger tip

elbowshoulder

sternum

forehead

tip of the toes

ARABESQUE PENCHEE

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.8306

1962 1979 1996 2003

DEVELOPPE A LA SECONDE

r=0.7793

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.7877

1962 1979 1996 2003

ARABESQUE PENCHEE

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.8306

1962 1979 1996 2003

r=0.7793

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.7877

1962 1979 1996 2003

• Body line becoming more vertical

• Why?

Results

• Why?

1. Dancer fitness?– But, both easy/supported and hard/unsupported

show similar trend towards vertical

Results

• Why?

1. Dancer fitness?– But, both easy/supported and hard/unsupported

show similar trend towards vertical2. Evolution of aesthetic value?

– Standardise stick figures– Aesthetic preference testing, 12 naïve subjects

Results

Schematic Figures

Right finger tip

Right Toe

Left finger tip

Left toe

Right Toe

Right finger tip

Left finger tip

Left Toe

Outline polygon

Stick figuresp=0.004, r=0.400

Polygonsp=0.006, r=0.387

Stick figuresp=0.004, r=0.400

Polygonsp=0.006, r=0.387

Conclusions

• Gradual aesthetic evolution within an art form• Socio-aesthetic feedback loop

Artist(Choreographer,

Dancer)

ObserverEvaluative Feedback

1. Aesthetic experience can be studied scientifically

2. Aesthetic experience has neural correlates

3. Brain network for aesthetic evaluation

4. Aesthetic appreciation can be learned/taught

5. Aesthetics is part of rich socio-cultural exchange

Overall Conclusions

1. Seeing body postures

1. Seeing body configuration

EBA V1 SPL vPMcInvers

iffere

• Dance postures are configurations of the body• The human brain sees dance as ‘visual wholes’

• The premotor cortex underlies this way of seeing• Configural vision may be learned

1. Seeing body configuration

Naïve subjects Expert Dancers

Groups

Ballet postures

Asian dance postures

2. Liking body movements

3. Evolving aesthetics?

Roadmap

Ballet Capoeira

Non-expert

Non-expertSubjects

Ballet dancers

Capoeira dancers

Expert

Expert - non-expert

• Expert dancers see dance differently from non-experts• Because they have stronger sensorimotor responses to

watching dance

Experts show more sensorimotor brain activity than non-experts

Mirror neuron areas

Ballet Capoeira

2. Sensorimotor Liking

Non-expert

Non-expertSubjects

Ballet dancers

Capoeira dancers

Expert

• 6 naïve subjects, retested after brain scanning• 24 ballet and capoiera moves• “How much do you like this move?” (1-5)• Find brain areas that correlate with liking?

a b• Visual areas• Right premotor

“Neurotargeting”

• Aesthetic evaluation of dance has measurable neural correlates

• Dance may be aesthetically successful because of specific effects on the brain:

‘All visual art must obey the laws of the visual system’ (Zeki and Lamb, 1994)

• But, note the problems– Average of 6 subjects, not universal– ‘Liking’ is not aesthetically rich: other aesthetics?

3. Evolving aesthetics?

Roadmap

• Does dance change over time? How? Why?• Same choreography

– Different dancers– Different aesthetics– Different communicative messages

• Rose Adagio, Sleeping Beauty• 1946-2003. Royal Opera House Archive

3. Evolving aesthetics

ARABESQUE PENCHEE

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.8348

r=0.779390

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

r=0.7793

1962 1979 1996 2003

• Physical fitness or Aesthetic evolution?

• Aesthetic judgement12 naïve observers50 stick figures

• 50 boundary shapes

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

YearsL

r=0.6473

ARABESQUE

1962 1979 1996 2003

• Does dance change over time? How? Why

• Interpretations of a single choreographic moment have changed

– Dancer fitness– Artistic interpretation– Aesthetic effect

• Performing art is looking at bodies in motion(plus many other aspects not yet studied)

• Dance uses special ‘ways of seeing’ in the brain

• Identified visual and motor brain systems for dance

• These systems contribute to aesthetic experience

Overall conclusion

• End

• Are dance postures also seen as configurations?– Or as individual body parts?

• Which brain areas underlie configural vision?

Configural System

Body part System

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Reduced body inversion effect

Configural System

Local System

Configural System

Local System

Configural System

Local System

Configural System

Local System

Configural System

Local System

Configural System

Local System

Inversion Effect

Upright > Inverted

NoInversion Effect

Upright = Inverted

IncreasedInversion Effect

Upright >> Inverted

Upright Inverted Predicted effect

Scientific Approach

Advantages

• Simplify• Measure• Explain• Predict

Disadvantages

• More than sum of parts• Misses the subjective

element, what “I” feel• Culture-bound

Observe, clarify, hypothesise, but appreciateReduce, but also respect

Proprioception:

Sensory information about the state of the body

Receptor neurons in:MusclesSkinJoints

Sensations from muscles

• Key role in maintaining posture

• Can be trained, superior in dancers

• Gives a coherent sense of body– Primary level: muscle length/joint angle– Secondary level: spatial configuration of

the whole body (body scheme)

Proprioception

Coherent sense of bodyDe Vignemont, Ehrsson & Haggard (2005)

ControlBiceps Triceps

Where is my hand?Jola, Davis & Haggard (in prep.)

Proprioceptive:Proprioceptive

Matching(PP)

Visual:Proprioceptive

Matching(VP)

VisuoProprioceptive:Proprioceptive

Matching(VPP)

PP VP VPP

PP VP VPP PP VP VPP

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50

PP VP VPP

Conclusions

• Proprioception is superior in dancers– Lower matching error

• Coherent body image: Secondary Proprioception– Dancers have a less fragmented body image

– Common egocentre, “core stability”

• Future directions…– Proprioceptive representation of leg position?

– Stability of proprioceptive representation over time?

Doing dance:internal sensation1. Proprioception(2. Motor prediction)

Watching dance:external sensation3. Motor simulation4. Neuro-aesthetics

Premotor cortex: “Mirror” neurons

• Does a similar brain system exist in man?• We understand the actions of others by simulation

Active when a monkey performs a specific action

Or watches another person doing the action

Non-expert

Sensorimotor responses to dance:Watching actions you can do or can’t do…

Subjects

Ballet dancers

Capoeira dancers

Dance videosBallet Capoeira

Expert

Expert - non-expert

• Expert dancers see dance differently from non-experts

• Because they are better able to simulate what they see

• Strong sensorimotor responses to watching dance

Experts show more sensorimotor brain activity than non-experts

Mirror neuron areas

Visual vs. motor experience in acquired skills

Set of gender-specific ballet moves

Subjects

Female dancers

Female moves

Male dancers

Male moves

Visual familiarity

Motor familiarity

Female

Visual familiarity

Motor familiarity

Gender specific actions

Pure motor expertise effect

Motor expertise+ gender congruence

gender congruence

MaleFemale

Gender-common actions

Visual familiarity

Motor familiarity

Pure motor expertise effect: mirror system

SPM t: interactions: gender-specific – gender-common

1. Left IPS: -42, 57, 48

2. Left dPMC: -48, 6, 45

Conclusions

• A strong motor component to watching dance

• Watching dance activates the same brain structures as performing the corresponding dance moves

• Potential application in dance training/rehabilitation?

• Depressing for the rest of us?

Doing dance:internal sensation1. Proprioception(2. Motor prediction)

Watching dance:external sensation3. Motor simulation4. Neuro-aesthetics

• 3 aspects of aesthetic response

Why does dance have aesthetic appeal?

• Dance is universal in human culture• Aesthetic appeal of dance may exploit natural

patterns of brain activity

• Visual• Emotional

• Sensorimotor

simple-complex

dull-interesting

dislike

weak-powerful

lowest rated highest rated

Visual form

Sensorimotor entrainment

7 naïve subjects

Consensus ratings

Aesthetic dimensions

(Berlyne, 1970)

Strongly Liked

Strongly Disliked

Consensus ratings

Neural correlates of aesthetic judgement

Premotor cortex tuning

Worstb.

Visual cortex tuning

Worstb.

Conclusions

• Not so depressing for the rest of us…

• Premotor cortex activity correlates with aesthetic evaluation

• Degree of movement has strong influence on aesthetic evaluation

• Strong motor component to dance aesthetics

Aesthetics as visual balance(McManus et al., 1985)

GroupA

GroupB

GroupA

GroupB

GroupA

GroupB

Aesthetic balance

Some body configurationsare especially pleasing

Aesthetics may reflect abalanced visual whole

Do dance postures exploitbasic visual brain mechanisms?

“Line”

What brain areas correlatewith aesthetic evaluations?

Aesthetic geometry

• Body ‘line’ as aesthetic pattern

• Historical evolution of line

• Fixed position in choreography– Developpe from Rose Adagio, Sleeping beauty– Thanks to ROH archive

• How and why has this position changed in 75 years?

Aesthetic geometry

Angle L defined by the two legs, fit line based

[the larger the angle, the higher goes the dynamic leg]

1956-1979 1986-1996 2002-2004

judge1 judge2 judge3

Aesthetic geometry

Conclusions

• Body geometry changes, even for fixed choreography– Dancer fitness?

– Evolution towards more aesthetic position?

• ‘Line’ may be getting more vertical

• Future directions:– Are some body lines aesthetically preferred?

– Do these preferences reflect tuning of specific brain areas?

• Thank you

Viewing wholes

Different!(EASY)

Er, Different!(Much Harder)

Inversion Effect:Reaction Time Difference

Viewing wholes

Different!(EASY)

Er, Different?(Much Harder)Inversion Effect:Reaction Time DifferenceLarger for bodies/faces thanNon-biological stimuli

0 500 600 1100 Response:“Same” or“Different”

Visual form: Inversion Effect

0 500 600 1100ms

Visual form: Inversion Effect

Response:“Same” or“Different”

Inverted bodies:- judgement is harder, slower- body processed as an overall visual form

Dance postures & control stimuli

Next step: making “Pseudopostures”

Ballet posture

Bharata Natyam posture

Top BNBottom Ballet

Questions:

Has choreography evolved to prefer ‘global’ body positions?

Does looking globally make things look aesthetically better?

3. The paradox of vision

• Vision is the key sense for the audience• Vision raises several computational problems for

the dancer’s brain:

1. Too slow to contribute to movement control 2. No clear relation to motor commands3. Over-rides proprioception

• Helpful for reinforcement, not for online control• How should dancers use mirrors?

2. Prediction

When we move fast, the brain can’t wait for the body to detect and respond to an error

The problem of feedback delays

Sensory delay: 25 ms

Motor delay: 25 ms

The brain’s solution:Predict the consequences of our movements as we make them- don’t wait for sensory feedback

• Brain sends command to leg muscles

• Cerebellum receives copy of command

• … predicts how the body will move

• … asks for a corrected command

• Total time < 20 ms !

Prediction is important for:

• Speed of movement• Accuracy and coordination

• Learning depends on changing connections in the cerebellum

• Genetic factors limit predictive learning ability?

Doing ballet1. Proprioception2. Motor prediction

Watching ballet3. Motor simulation4. Neuro-aesthetics

Background

• Cortical facilitation during action observation– Fadiga (1995), Strafella & Paus, Aziz-Zadeh– Action understanding vs low-level resonance?

• All studies assume derivative simulation– Predict effects for viewing others’ actions are a reduced version of effects for viewing one’s own actions– (Patuzzo et al., Maeda et al.)

• Self/other comparison generally involves several visual confounds

Neuroaesthetics of dance Patrick Haggard Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience University College...

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