The brain consumes more energy than any other organ in the body, and visual processing alone represents almost half of our energy reserves. According to a new study, pleasant images require less energy. Apparently, familiarity is efficient, and efficiency is enjoyable.
A new study, recently published in the journal PNAS Nexus, suggests that humans tend to prefer images that are easier for the brain to process. Why? Why require less energy, making them, in practice, easier to assimilate.
The brain consumes more energy than any other organ in the body, and the visual processingin itself, represents almost half of our energy reserves.
Scientists have long known that the visual system is optimized for efficiency. In the new study, a team of researchers led by psychologist Yikai Tangfrom the University of Toronto, Canada, questioned whether our sense of beauty evolved as an energy saving feature.
To test the idea, the researchers analyzed brain scans of people who viewed thousands of images while undergoing functional MRIs. Oxygen consumption in different visual regions served as indicator of the amount of energy that the brain was consuming.
The same images were also processed through an artificial neural network to estimate the computational costand rated for their aesthetic appeal by over 1000 online participants.
The study authors found that the more energy was needed to process an image, less people liked her.
Furthermore, the results showed that visually pleasing images demanded less metabolic effortespecially in the higher-level brain regions responsible for recognizing objects and faces.
This helps explain why people tend to prefer faces of common appearance rather than unusual facesor why symmetrical patterns convey a sense of calm.
As exceptions force the brain to work harderupgrading internal models and burning more fuel. Apparently, familiarity is efficientand the efficiency is pleasing.
