Question 20- Discuss The Role Of The Orbitofrontal Cortex In Aesthetic Perception

Question 1

Kirk et al (2009)

Answer 1

-Found that the OFC, along with the ACC, modulates architectural expertise
•More activation happened when experts viewing buildings compared to non-experts, and showed the strongest response for appealing stimuli
•OFC plays a role in aesthetic perception by becoming more activated in experts, leads to higher preferences?

Question 2

Castriato-Sanderberg et al (2005)

Answer 2

-Expert wine tasters showed increased brain activation in areas that combine taste and smell input
•One of the areas was OFC

-Another study showing OFC modulates experience

Question 3

Royet et al (2013)

Answer 3

-In older controls, there was a positive regression line of grey matter volume in the OFC for experts in perfuming compared to a negative regression line for older controls who were not experts in perfuming
•Olfactory expertise is associated with grey matter changes in dedicated brain areas, e.g. OFC

Question 4

OFC plays an important role in modulating expertise in a variety of ways…

Answer 4

• Olfactory perception
• Architectural perception

-This then changes the way experts perceive certain stimuli which can then lead to a preference/correctness in some stimuli compared to others

Question 5

OFC associated with listening to happy/sad music

Blood and Zatorre (2001)

Answer 5

-Pleasant music produced greater activity in medial cingulate cortex and right OFC
•OFC has been found to be involved in suppressing negative emotions and sending output from sensory input to other brain areas involved in emotional processing, such as hypothalamus and amygdala, so listening to happy music produces a happy emotion and in turn suppresses any negative emotion from listening to the music