Neural Correlates of Myths in Which an Image Becomes Alive.

Julien d'Huy (1)

1 LIAS - IMM - Centre de Linguistique Anthropologique et Sociolinguistique - Institut Marcel Mauss

How do we explain the universality of a mythical motif in which an artistic image becomes "alive"? It is significant that brain areas activated by real movement are also activated by action sentences or images implying motion. Activation of these motion areas probably generates the sense of motion that emanates from images. It is notable in this connection that action sentences read before or after viewing images with implied motion may be more easily memorized.

Mots clés: Art; Neuroscience; Mythology; Prehistoric Art; Cognitive Psychology; Cultural Memory; HMT+/V5; Memory; Mirror Neurons; Anthropology; Visual Perception; Anthropology Of Art; Sentence Processing; Implied Motion

Domaines: Neurosciences; Art et histoire de l'art; Archéologie et Préhistoire; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Julien d'Huy. Neural Correlates of Myths in Which an Image Becomes Alive.. Leonardo, 2013, 46 (2), pp.145-150. ⟨halshs-00872502⟩