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Lauring JO, Pelowski M, Specker E, Ishizu T, Haugbøl S, Hollunder B, Leder H, Stender J, Kupers R. Parkinson's disease and changes in the appreciation of art: A comparison of aesthetic and formal evaluations of paintings between PD patients and healthy controls. Brain Cogn 2019; 136:103597. [PMID: 31491732 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.103597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressing neurodegenerative disease predominantly involving the loss of dopamine producing neurons with hallmark symptoms of motor disorders and cognitive, motivational, emotional, and perceptual impairments. Intriguingly, PD can also be connected-often anecdotally-with a sudden burst of artistic creativity, motivation, or changed quality/style of produced art. This has led to growing empirical interest, promising a window into brain function and the unique neurological signature of artists. This topic also fits a growing interest from researchers in other areas, including Alzheimer's or other dementia, which have suggested that specific changes in art production/appraisal may provide a unique basis for therapy, diagnosis, or understanding of these diseases. However, whether PD also shows similar impacts on how we perceive and evaluate art has never been systematically addressed. We compared a cohort of PD patients against age-matched healthy controls, asking participants to rate paintings using scales of liking and beauty and terms pertaining to artworks' formal and conceptual qualities previously designed to provide a rubric for symptom identification. We found no evidence for PD-related differences in liking or beauty. However, PD patients showed higher ratings on assessed "emotionality," potentially relating to the tie between PD, dopamine pathways, and emotion/reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon O Lauring
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, BRAINlab, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Matthew Pelowski
- Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Specker
- Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Tomohiro Ishizu
- Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria; Faculty of Biosciences, Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT London, UK
| | - Steven Haugbøl
- Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, DK-2400 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Barbara Hollunder
- Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmut Leder
- Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Johan Stender
- Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, DK-2400 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ron Kupers
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, BRAINlab, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
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