Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

W.M. Keck Science Department

Reader 1

Gautam Agarwal

Reader 2

Alison HArris

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

Winnie Mauto

Abstract

Abstract

Appreciating visual art is one of the most sought after forms of the human experience. Much relevant to this study, artistic engagement also provides a powerful model for examining how experience affects brain networks, as trained artists and non-experts often perceive and interpret the same stimuli in fundamentally different ways. This study will investigate how artistic expertise reshapes the neural representation of visual art by examining differences between trained artists, art viewers, and novices. Although prior neuroaesthetic research has identified brain regions involved in aesthetic perception, less is known about how experience alters the representational structure of artworks in the brain. To address this gap, the proposed study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and representational similarity analysis (RSA) to examine how artworks are organized within neural representational space. Participants will view a controlled set of original artworks that vary in visual and conceptual similarity, while neural activity will be measured in regions including the visual cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and the default mode network. The study will test whether artistic expertise increases the ability to differentiate visually similar artworks perception and promotes concept-based understanding of their relationships.  More broadly, this project will examine whether artistic training changes the neural geometry of art perception and how knowledge shapes visual cognition.

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