Yi Lin¹ (), Johan Wagemans¹, Hans Op de Beeck¹; ¹KU Leuven

Paintings provide unique aesthetic experiences, yet how visual inputs are processed and how these experiences unfold in the brain remain unclear. To address this, we identified neural networks underlying seven predefined cognitive processes during aesthetic experiences: content recognition, style recognition, emotional valence recognition, perceptual fluency, pleasure, interest, and liking. These processes are thought to occur at distinct moments of the aesthetic experience. We conducted an fMRI study with 34 participants who rated 36 Western paintings—balanced across content, style, and liking, and selected to partially dissociate pleasure and interest—prior to scanning. During the scan, participants viewed the same paintings. Using representational similarity analysis (RSA), we created a fine-grained mapping between neural activity and cognitive processes by comparing representational geometries across both dimensions. Specifically, we integrated fMRI neural data with behavioral ratings (e.g., "how much a painting is liked") or ground-truth categories (e.g., whether a painting is human-focused). Regions with high correlations between neural and cognitive/behavioral data likely reflect their involvement in specific cognitive process networks. Preliminary results revealed distinct neural networks for different cognitive processes. Visual areas, particularly ventral stream regions, were strongly involved in content recognition. Perceptual fluency, reflecting ease of processing, was primarily localized in low-level visual areas. Similarly, style recognition networks were centered in the visual cortex. Emotional valence recognition engaged broader networks spanning temporal, parietal, and frontal regions, including the temporo-parieto-occipital junction and orbital frontal cortices. Although pleasure, interest, and liking are conceptually similar, RSA revealed distinct neural differences. Pleasure networks included the temporo-parieto-occipital junction and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. The network for interest was mainly confined to the visual cortex, while liking engaged broader regions, including the superior parietal lobule and medial prefrontal cortex. In short, RSA allowed us to unravel the neural mechanisms underlying the complexities of vision-related aesthetic experiences.