Across Atlanta, a vibrant new field of study is taking shape — one that blurs the boundaries between laboratory and rehearsal hall, museum and MRI suite, coding studio and concert stage. Neuroarts, as this field is known, sits at the intersection of two of humanity’s most forceful energies: artistic expression and brain power.
As the neuroarts movement gains momentum in the state and across the country, Georgia State is emerging as a powerful interdisciplinary hub where scientists and artists are not simply collaborating but co-creating new ways of understanding the brain.
Art as a Tool for Brain Health
For decades, people have intuitively recognized art as transformative — shaping emotion, identity, memory and social belonging. Neuroscience now offers the tools to understand how and why these transformations occur.
By studying music, visual art, movement, storytelling and performance through the lens of brain function and development, neuroscience is delivering data on how artistic engagement shapes the brain. The research is showing that artistic engagement intersects with critical development from early childhood all the way through end of life.
“In childhood and adolescence, we’re seeing that arts participation supports impulse control, planning, language development and socio-emotional growth,” says Vince Calhoun, a Distinguished University Professor and founding director of the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS Center). “In adults, we see how creative practice reinforces identity formation and stress regulation, and preserves brain networks involved in memory.”
To build more neuroarts knowledge and explore how to create programs that put the power of art into action, Georgia State is collaborating with one of Atlanta’s leading arts institutions: the Woodruff Arts Center.
Hala Moddelmog, president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, has been an enthusiastic advocate for this expanding field.
“We’re working to advance neuroarts through research, awareness, policy, partnerships and funding, and that includes the work happening with researchers at GSU,” she says. “We are gaining more proof every day that the arts aren’t a luxury. They are critical to the healing, vibrancy and well-being of our communities.”
From Choir to Connectivity
One example of this collaboration in action is the partnership between the TReNDS Center at Georgia State and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO). Maria Misiura, a Georgia State research scientist, and Erin Jones, senior director of sales and audience development with the ASO, are working together on a grant for a new choral program connected to senior centers across metro Atlanta. As part of the study, older adults in residential facilities will attend weekly choir sessions led by an ASO choral director, and scientists will examine whether collective singing can measurably improve cognition, mood and social connection in older adults, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment and early-stage dementia.
By integrating neuroscience methods with community-based arts practice, the project aims to build a scalable, science-backed model for dementia care.
“Centering the human voice as a vehicle for dignity and connection allows us to bridge lived experience and measurable brain outcomes,” says Misiura, who works with both Calhoun and Professor of Psychology and Gerontology Vonetta Dotson to improve brain health outcomes across communities in metro Atlanta. “We’re asking not just whether choir feels good, but how it changes social well-being, executive function and memory.”
Art as Translation: The ArtSci Match Model
Georgia State’s Brains & Behavior program has also cultivated science-art exchange in a powerful way.
“As the creator and administrator of the ArtSci Match, I have collaborated with scientists and artists across all disciplines at GSU,” says Hannah Lichtenstein, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience and longtime organizer of brain art shows at the university. Artists and scientists apply to the program and are paired based on research interests and creative fit. The result is more than exhibition — it is translation. Artists gain access to the conceptual frameworks of neuroscience and psychology while scientists encounter new interpretive lenses through installation, multimedia and visual storytelling.
Rather than functioning as a one-way translation of science into art, the annual exhibition creates a feedback loop where artistic interpretation informs research questions, reshapes communication strategies and sparks new interdisciplinary collaborations.
The exhibition has traveled from the GSU Library Art Gallery to the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging at Georgia Tech and the Woodruff Arts Center’s Rowen Convergence Summit, extending this exchange into broader civic and cultural spaces.
“Our projects demystified neuroscience for diverse audiences while giving scientists new ways to communicate their work,” says Elizabeth Weaver II, associate director of the Brains & Behavior program. “This reciprocal exchange enriched both communities.”
Measuring the Museum
GSU researchers are also partnering with the High Museum of Art to evaluate how art shapes human flourishing. At the High Museum, a two-year well-being study is examining how museum visits impact social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual well-being. The project is led by museum staff — including Andrew Westover, the Eleanor M. Storza deputy director of learning and civic engagement, and Julia Forbes, associate director for institutional research — in collaboration with interdisciplinary academic partners and the Atlanta-based arts and health research firm Performance Hypothesis.
Georgia State graduate research fellow Lexi Mueldener has supported the project data collection and implementation as a master’s student in anthropology with a concentration in museum anthropology.
“While working on this research study, I helped develop and implement various data collection protocols in collaboration with a wonderful team of interdisciplinary professionals,” Mueldener says. “I am incredibly grateful to have learned from the expertise of this team, and also to have gained invaluable experience conducting research in a museum. It has marked an important step in my overarching goal of learning how to enhance the ways we can utilize museums to benefit the communities they serve.”
The study team is using both biological data, collected through wearable devices, and subjective experience surveys to understand whether seeing art in person can generate objective measures of awe and wonder while promoting relaxation. They anticipate completing data collection by the end of August.
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