Arts Engagement in Trauma Recovery Shows Significant Mental Health Benefits JHU’s IAM Lab and Path with Art publish research showing arts engagement improves self-efficacy, adding to growing body of evidence supporting arts in public health for trauma recovery Baltimore, MD, June 1, 2026—The Johns Hopkins University International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM LAB), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and Seattle-based Path with Art announce results of a new neuroarts […] Read More Planetary Health and Neuroarts The powerful role of the arts in reconnecting people with nature. Key points Planetary health links human well-being directly to Earth’s ecological systems and stability. The arts can turn abstract crises like climate change into personal, actionable experiences. Neuroarts show how […] Read More This is Your Brain on Protest Songs Group singing fuels social movements and collective well-being. By Sarah Hays Coomer “This is Los Angeles, ah-ooo, ah-ooo, ah-ooo!” Throngs of Los Angeles Football Club fans chant in protest of ICE raids on schools and businesses. Across town, in […] Read More Do You See What I See?: The Possibilities of Pareidolia Research Pareidolia may foster creativity and flexibility, and help us adapt to challenges. Key points Pareidolia is recognizing patterns, like faces, in random stimuli, aiding survival and creativity. Research links pareidolia to neural activity, creativity, and cognitive flexibility. Tests using pareidolia-induced images may […] Read More The Role of Community Arts in Trauma Recovery The United States has experienced numerous tragedies in the past year, from the devastating wildfires in Maui to mass shootings in schools and places of worship. Such events are associated […] Read More Human Flourishing and the Arts in Unprecedented Times: Part II In this two-part series, we explore the burgeoning field of human flourishing (or simply “flourishing”), and its real-world arts- and aesthetics-based applications for bettering our physical and mental well-being. If […] Read More Human Flourishing in Unprecedented Times: Part I In this two-part series, we explore the burgeoning field of human flourishing (or simply “flourishing”), and its real-world applications for bettering our physical and mental well-being. In the last few […] Read More Do You See What I See? IAM Lab Launches Investigation Into the Pareidolia Phenomenon Human faces don’t normally belong on clouds or slices of toast. Potatoes are not seals. And peppers don’t usually look like they need a little hug. But the human mind […] Read More The Mental Health Benefits of Reading Despite recent controversies over which books should line the shelves of schools and libraries, there is little debate that literature expands the mind. But can the act of reading also […] Read More Neuroarts: An Emerging Field With a Plan to Transform Health Artists across cultures and throughout history have long recognized what scientific research has only recently been able to confirm: The arts are essential to our ability to heal and thrive. […] Read More More → Join the neuroaesthetics conversation: Subscribe here | Support our work: Donate here
