In a landmark 2004 experiment, researchers placed participants in brain scanners and showed them beautiful paintings. A specific brain region—the orbitofrontal cortex—lit up instantly. This dedicated neural real estate, sometimes dubbed “the beauty center,” implies that beauty appreciation is hardwired into our cognitive architecture. Moreover, our brains recognize beauty in milliseconds, long before conscious thought has time to form. This instantaneous recognition hints that we simply know beauty when we see it.
Although everyone has personal aesthetic preferences, there is one kind of beauty that human beings universally appreciate—one that resonates with the brain and influences our health.