LEANING ARTS AND THE BRAIN JOHNS HOPKINS NEURO-ED SUMMIT MAY 6, 2009 Michael I. Posner University of Oregon

Movement Foot-tapping, dancing, playing an instrument Visual Perception Reading music, watching a performance Emotional Reactions to music Expectancy Generation, violation & satisfaction Memory & Associations Sensory Feedback from playing an instrument, dancing Auditory Perception & Analysis

BA47 BA44 Auditory cortex Visual cortex Cerebellum

Ref.: Fujioka, T, Ross, B, Kakigi, R, Pantev, C, Trainor, LJ. One year of musical training affects development of auditory cortical- evoked fields in young children. Brain 2006; 129(10):

THEORY 1. NETWORKS FOR EACH SPECIFIC ART FORM 2. GENERAL FACTOR OF INTEREST IN ARTS GENERAL ARTS FACTOR RELATED TO ORIENTING SENSITIVITY = OPENNESS 3.WHEN GENERAL FACTOR IS HIGH - ARTS TRAINING IN AN APPROPRIATE SPECIFIC ART- PRODUCES HIGH INTEREST OR MOTIVATON 4. INTEREST SUSTAINS ATTENTION 5. ATTENTION TRAINING IMPROVES COGNITION

ATTENTION TRAINING

ERP time courses of the conflict resolution Adults 6-year-old children

SUMMARY Support for general theory of ARTS training and cognition Increasing evidence for genetic involvement in individual differences Likelihood of age related changes in how genes shape aesthetic preference

GENETICS FINDINGS PARENTAL ORIENTING SENSITIVITY RELATED TO COMT - DOPAMINE DRD4 7 REPEAT INTERACTS WITH PARENTING QUALITY TO INFLUENCE CHILD BEHAVIOR. PARENTS WITH 7 REPEAT HAVE REDUCED INTEREST IN SPECIFIC ART FORMS DBH (DOPAMINE AND TPH2 SEROTONIN WERE RELATED TO EXECUTIVE ATTENTION AND TO INTEREST IN AESTHETICS