The gentle grip of beauty: Neural bases of motor inhibition during aesthetic appreciation

Abstract A century-old tradition characterizes aesthetic experiences as intense contemplative moments in which we suspend practical concerns and devote our full attention to the object at hand. In line with this tradition, recent theories suggest that aesthetic experiences involve heightened sensory processing accompanied by a suppression of motor activity. Yet, while the link between aesthetic appreciation and perceptual enhancement has received considerable attention, the role of motor inhibition remains largely unexplored. The present study addressed this gap by investigating whether the aesthetic appreciation of images can modulate behavioral and electrophysiological markers of motor inhibition. In Experiment 1, significantly slower reaction times following the observation of preferred images were found. In Experiment 2, EEG responses associated with motor preparation and execution were significantly reduced in trials involving preferred compared with non-preferred images. Time-frequency analysis revealed significantly decreased alpha power (associated with attentional engagement toward visual perception) and increased beta power (associated with inhibited motor preparation) for preferred than non-preferred images. Overall, our results provide new evidence for the existence of a relationship between aesthetic appreciation and motor inhibition and position aesthetic experience as a valuable case study for exploring the adaptive coordination of sensory and motor systems in response to environmental demands.