February 28, 2025

Creating and appreciating art engages our social brains!

According to a recent study by neuroscientist Janneke van Leeuwen, PhD, art interpretation stimulates blood flow in the same brain regions involved in social connection.

The exciting implication of this research is that art has a biological function. Beyond entertaining and inspiring us, art can also help us make sense of our social world.

How did van Leeuwen uncover this exciting connection between social processing and art appreciation?

First, she and her research team reviewed the “social brain atlas,” a framework that Daniel Alcalá-López, PhD and his colleagues created from MRI studies of brain networks involved in social engagement.

Then, Van Leeuwen correlated those areas of brain function with the cognitive processes required for creative tasks like assessing the meaning of a work of art. Lastly, she combined those findings into a single brain map.

Her brain map shows close overlap between the parts of the brain involved in social processing and the parts of the brain involved in creative engagement. Specifically, the map illustrates four brain networks involved in both social and creative tasks:

Network 1: Seeing
Network 2: Feeling
Network 3: Interacting
Network 4: Meaning-Making

For example, Network 1 allows us to not only observe a friend’s facial expressions, but also analyze shapes, lines, and colors. Network 4 helps us perform more complex tasks, like reflecting on our relationships and appreciating works of art.

Check out van Leeuwen’s article for a more technical overview of these cognitive processes.

Humans are innately both social and creative, but van Leeuwen’s research is one of the first studies to showcase a clear connection between these two fundamental traits. It introduces the exciting possibility that creative expression is even more important to our humanity and social connections than we may realize. In other words, maybe art is more than just a hobby. Maybe art is an essential tool for navigating our lives as social beings.

Want to dive deeper into the link between arts engagement and social connection? Here are a few next steps we recommend:

• Watch “Embrace Your Signal,” an exciting video about the ways art rewires our brains and opens us up to social connection.
• Browse 125+ short films that address themes of loneliness and connection.
• Explore arts-based programs for colleges and universities, healthcare organizations, workplaces, and community-based organizations.