Empathy for pain involves sensory and visceromotor brain regions relevant also in the first-person pain experience. Focusing on brain activations associated with vicarious experiences of pain triggered by artistic or non-artistic images, the present study aims to investigate common and distinct brain activation patterns associated with these two vicarious experiences of pain and to assess whether empathy for pain brain regions contributes to the formation of an aesthetic judgement (AJ) in non-art expert observers. Artistic and non-artistic facial expressions (painful and neutral) were shown to participants inside the scanner and then aesthetically rated in a subsequent behavioural session. Results showed that empathy for pain brain regions (i.e. bilateral insular cortex, posterior sector of the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior portion of the middle cingulate cortex) and bilateral inferior frontal gyrus are commonly activated by artistic and non-artistic painful facial expressions. For the artistic representation of pain, the activity recorded in these regions directly correlated with participants’ AJ. Results also showed the distinct activation of a large cluster located in the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus for non-artistic stimuli. This study suggests that non-beauty-specific mechanisms such as empathy for pain are crucial components of the aesthetic experience of artworks.

中文翻译：

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艺术疼痛美学评价的内脏运动根源：一项功能磁共振成像研究

对疼痛的同理心涉及与第一人称疼痛体验相关的感觉和内脏运动大脑区域。本研究专注于与艺术或非艺术图像引发的疼痛替代体验相关的大脑激活，旨在调查与这两种疼痛替代体验相关的常见和不同的大脑激活模式，并评估对疼痛大脑区域的同理心是否有助于在非艺术专家观察者中形成审美判断（AJ）。艺术性和非艺术性的面部表情（痛苦和中性）在扫描仪内向参与者展示，然后在随后的行为会议中进行审美评价。结果表明，对疼痛大脑区域（即双侧岛叶皮质、前扣带皮层的后部和中扣带皮层的前部）和双侧额下回通常被艺术性和非艺术性的痛苦面部表情激活。对于疼痛的艺术表现，在这些区域记录的活动与参与者的 AJ 直接相关。结果还显示，位于后扣带皮层/楔前叶的大簇对非艺术性刺激有明显的激活作用。这项研究表明，非美特有的机制，如对疼痛的同情，是艺术品审美体验的重要组成部分。在这些区域记录的活动与参与者的 AJ 直接相关。结果还显示，位于后扣带皮层/楔前叶的大簇对非艺术性刺激有明显的激活作用。这项研究表明，非美特有的机制，如对疼痛的同情，是艺术品审美体验的重要组成部分。在这些区域记录的活动与参与者的 AJ 直接相关。结果还显示，位于后扣带皮层/楔前叶的大簇对非艺术性刺激有明显的激活作用。这项研究表明，非美特有的机制，如对疼痛的同情，是艺术品审美体验的重要组成部分。