Genetics of aesthetic and music reward sensitivity (Giacomo Bignardi, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics)

From tingling spines triggered by tonal patterns to tearful eyes provoked by arrangements of colours and shapes, humans can have remarkable experiences. But what makes individuals susceptible to such aesthetic responses? Here, I present evidence that genetic effects are partly responsible. Triangulating evidence from twin, molecular, and intergenerational-based models, I will present novel results showing how sensitivity to different art modalities, from visual art to music, is under genetic influence. I will go on to show contrasting evidence indicating that some components of aesthetic taste appear largely free from genetic effects. The talk will illustrate the promises and pitfalls of quantitative genetics methods in shedding light on the present, and perhaps the past, of our human artistic nature.

Biography

Giacomo Bignardi is a Max Planck School of Cognition PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Language & Genetics Department. Bignardi studied visual arts, music, and performing arts at the University of Bologna and psychology of art at Goldsmiths University of London. He continued his studies in various institutions, from the Complex Trait Gentics Lab at the VU Amsterdam to the Laboratory of Neurobiology at UCL. His research aims to bridge two seemingly unrelated fields: empirical aesthetics and quantitative genetics. Currently, under the supervision of Prof. Simon E. Fisher, Bignardi’s work primarily seeks to disentangle genetic sources of inter-individual differences in how people respond to art.