Scientists discover that beauty saves brain resources

Scientists from the University of Toronto discovered that people particularly like images that require minimal energy expenditure from the brain to perceive.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to "Gazeta.Ru", researchers note that the brain is one of the most energy-intensive organs: it consumes about 20% of all incoming calories, and almost half of this energy is spent on the visual system's operation.

Overly simple stimuli, such as an empty white room, are processed easily but quickly become boring. Excessively complex images require greater metabolic costs and can cause fatigue. Scientists hypothesized that our aesthetic preferences might be linked to finding a comfortable "golden mean" between simplicity and complexity.

To test this hypothesis, specialists assessed the energy "cost" of perceiving 4,914 images using a computer model of the visual system and compared these data with attractiveness ratings given by 1,118 volunteers. They then confirmed the results using brain imaging on four participants, measuring oxygen consumption.

In both studies, people found images that required less energy for the brain to process more pleasant. The quick reaction of the test subjects allowed researchers to capture the primary aesthetic perception - what emerges before contemplating the meaning of what was seen.

The authors of the study suggest that visual attractiveness might be a manifestation of a hidden energy-saving strategy: "pleasing to the eye" could literally mean pleasant because it requires fewer brain resources.