A rich imagination often provides the spark for works of art, but research on how mental imagery changes multi-sensory perception reveals some of the neuroscience behind the creation of art and graphic images.

A 2013 study conducted by two behavioral scientists looked at the impact an actual visual stimulus had on a subject as compared to an imagined visual stimulus. In other words, is what you see in your mind’s eye the same as what you see in real life in terms of how it fires up your neurons?

Cell body of a neuron longThe results surprised researchers. In three separate experiments, scientists observed that when a subject imagined the sound of a collision, the “imagined stimulus causes similar multi-sensory illusions as real cross-modal stimuli.” Roughly translated, that means  the act of visualizing an image in the mind’s eye acts on the brain in similar fashion to experiencing the real-life stimulus. Scientists are currently investigating this new field, which studies how the brain processes imagery and sounds arising in the imagination through ‘cross-modal mental imagery.’

Essentially, according to the researchers, when a person imagines a particular type of stimulus such as the sound of an automobile collision, those specific areas in the brain that perceive that auditory sensory stimulus in real life will show signs of activity in that part of brain that perceives the stimulus as thoughts simply imagined in the person’s mind.

The study, conducted in 2013, is expected to lead to more neuro-imaging studies that could reveal more about how the act of imagining objects or events activates certain parts of our neurological processes.

Perhaps scientists are getting ever closer to measuring that amazing talent homo sapiens has for conceiving beautiful works of art.