Brain dynamics during architectural experience: prefrontal and hippocampal regions track aesthetics and spatial complexity

Architectural experience involves processing the spatial layout of an environment and our emotional reaction to it. However, these two processes are largely studied separately. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and first-person movies of journeys through buildings and cities to determine the contribution of different brain regions to spatial and aesthetic aspects of the built environment. During scanning, participants watched 48 movies that show first-person-view travel through different spaces; immediately after each video, they either judged the spatial layout complexity or valence of the environment. After scanning, participants also reported the memorability of the spaces encountered. Activity in brain regions previously linked to valence processing (e.g. ventromedial prefrontal cortex) were modulated by aesthetic qualities of the stimuli (i.e. increased for pleasant spaces compared to unpleasant spaces) and the task (more active when judging valence), whereas activity in brain regions linked with spatial processing (e.g. parahippocampal regions) increased in complex layouts compared to simple layouts. The hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex were associated with the memorability of spaces and were modulated by both aesthetic and spatial qualities. We also tested for curvature, fascination, coherence and hominess - qualities linked to aesthetic judgement in architecture. We replicated findings activating right lingual gyrus for fascination, left inferior occipital gyrus for coherence, and left cuneus for hominess, and found inverse curvature (increasing rectilinearity) activated spatial, valence and visual processing regions. Overall, these findings provide important insights into how different brain regions respond whilst experiencing new buildings and city spaces, which is needed to advance the field of neuroarchitecture.