Study: Genuine Art in Museums Stimulates the Brain 10 Times More Effectively Than Copies and Reproductions

Dutch scientists have found a ‘huge difference’ between real works and posters using eye tracking and MRI scans of viewers, The Guardian reports.  

The neurological study showed that real works of art in a museum stimulate the brain 10 times more than viewing a poster.

The independent study was commissioned by the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, which houses Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. Scientists used eye-tracking technology and MRI scans to record the brain activity of volunteers who viewed real works of art and reproductions.

As a result, they found that the reaction of the 20 volunteers was 10 times stronger when they looked at the original work of art. 

Martin de Munnik, co-founder of the Neurensics Research Institute, who conducted the study along with other neuroscientists, said the study had two elements.

The volunteers, aged 21 to 65, were hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) brain scanner and eye-tracking equipment and asked to look at five paintings in the museum and posters of them in the museum shop.

According to the researchers, the real works of art elicited a strong positive response in the precuneus, a part of the brain associated with consciousness, self-reflection and personal memories. 

The study also analysed The Girl with the Pearl Earring. The popular work attracted attention for what the researchers called the ‘constant attention loop’ - a triangle between the girl's highlighted eye, mouth and pearl earring.

Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology Eric Scherder, who was invited to comment on the findings, said the study highlighted the importance of culture, especially when the right-wing Dutch government has introduced cuts to public funds.