Dynamics of brain networks in the aesthetic appreciation

Neuroimage experiments have been essential for identifying active
brain networks. During cognitive tasks as in, e.g., aesthetic appreciation,
such networks include regions that belong to the default
mode network (DMN). Theoretically, DMN activity should be interrupted
during cognitive tasks demanding attention, as is the case for
aesthetic appreciation. Analyzing the functional connectivity dynamics
along three temporal windows and twoconditions, beautiful
and not beautiful stimuli, here we report experimental support for
the hypothesis that aesthetic appreciation relies on the activation of
two different networks, an initial aesthetic network and a delayed
aesthetic network, engaged within distinct time frames. Activation
of the DMN might correspond mainly to the delayed aesthetic
network. We discuss adaptive and evolutionary explanations for
the relationships existing between the DMN and aesthetic networks
and offer unique inputs to debates on the mind/brain interaction.