Dementia as a window to the neurology of art

Abstract

Art is an expression of neurological function and how it organizes and interprets perception. Recent reports of changes in art performance among patients with frontotemporal dementia have provided an unexpected window to the neurology of art. They confirm that visual art is predominantly in the right hemisphere and suggest a neuroanatomical schema for artistic creativity. The right parietal region is critical for the visuospatial prerequisites of art, and the right temporal lobe integrates and interprets these percepts. The right temporal lobe appears necessary for extracting and exaggerating the essential features of an artistic composition. In contrast, the left parietal region and the left temporal lobe have inhibitory effects on artistic expression through attention to visuospatial detail and semantic labeling, respectively. Frontal-executive functions are also required for artistic expression, particularly right dorsolateral frontal initiation of a network for novelty-seeking behavior. Further study of art in dementia can profitably evaluate this proposed schema for the mechanisms of art in the brain.