Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Involvement in Initial Negative Aesthetic Impression Formation

It is well established that aesthetic appreciation is related with activity in several different brain regions. The identification of the neural correlates of beauty or liking ratings has been the focus of most prior studies. Not much attention has been directed towards the fact that humans are surrounded by objects that lead them to experience aesthetic indifference or leave them with a negative aesthetic impression. Here we explore the neural substrate of such experiences. Given the neuroimaging techniques that have been used, little is known about the temporal features of such brain activity. By means of magnetoencephalography we registered the moment at which brain activity differed while participants viewed images they considered to be beautiful or not. Results show that the first differential activity appears between 300 and 400 ms after stimulus onset. During this period activity in right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) was greater while participants rated visual stimuli as not beautiful than when they rated them as beautiful. We argue that this activity is associated with an initial negative aesthetic impression formation, driven by the relative hedonic value of stimuli regarded as not beautiful. Additionally, our results contribute to the understanding of the nature of the functional roles of the lOFC

Environmental evolution and mid–late Holocene climate events in the Valencia lagoon (Mediterranean coast of Spain)

Integration of geomorphological, stratigraphic, malacological, sedimentological and micropalaeontological techniques and 14C dating allows us to characterise the processes and evolution of the coastal barrier–lagoon system of Valencia (Spain), from the middle Holocene to the historical epoch, as well as the responses to global climate events. Four stages are recognised. Phase 1: around 8240 ± 80 cal. yr BP, a brackish lagoon of moderate energy and in restricted environment was formed, with an energy peak that could correspond to the maximum Holocene marine transgression. Dating (8240 ± 80 cal. yr BP) carried out in peat corresponds to a cold cycle and low water levels in inland lakes of the western Mediterranean. Phase 2: from 6450 cal. yr BP to 3710 ± 130 cal. yr BP, a lagoon remained, in restricted environment and connected with the sea, but with a notable energy decrease and recurrent saturation processes similar to those described in other Mediterranean continental lakes. This phase is contemporaneous with a period of increase in the aridity trend and global cold cycles. Phase 3: from 3710 ± 130 cal. yr BP, a brackish lagoon without marine connection was formed. Towards 820 ± 90 cal. yr BP, a shift to a totally isolated lagoon environment took place (changing from brackish lagoon to freshwater). This process is coeval with a palaeohydrological phase of high flooding frequency in the river flood plains of Spain and Southern France. Phase 4: freshwater lagoon environment becomes a widespread flood plain. During a phase of high frequency and magnitude of floods (‘Little Ice Age’), the flood plain is formed on the top level of the sequence. Phases and processes recorded in sedimentation could be placed in relation with global mid-to-late Holocene events.This work was supported by grant CSO 2012-32367, Department of Scientific and Technical Research. Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain). ‘Hydrogeomorphological processes and changes in Mediterranean coastal flood plains. Climate variability and human actions. A multiscale approach’. This work was partially carried out thanks to the support of Labex OT-Med (ANR-11-LABX-0061) and the A*MIDEX project (no. ANR-11- IDEX-0001-02), funded by the French Government’s ‘Investissements d’Avenir’ programme, managed by the French National Research Agency (ANR).Ciencias del Ma