See the impact of art on your brain in real time

STORY: Ever wondered what impact looking at art has on your brain?Location: LondonVisitors to the Courtauld Gallery can find out bywearing this electroencephalogram headsetIt visualizes electrical signals from the user's brain[Vaish Ferizoli, Gallery visitor] "So walking around, I've just been taking it in just like normal and then seeing what it actually looks like on the screen is amazing. Really, really, really good."The project was launched by Art Fund to highlightthe positive impact art can have on people's emotions[Jenny Waldman/Director, Art Fund] "I think we all know that there's something that happens when we look at something that is beautiful or something that's intriguing. But what this is showing is the pattern of your brainwaves when you see something that intrigues or inspires or creates an emotion."Research has shown that seeing something beautiful triggers the release of 'feel-good' dopamine in our brains[Ahmad Beyh/Neuroscientist, Rutgers University]"If you find beauty in a piece of art, that engages the part of your brain toward the front there, and that part coincides with regions that are usually targeted in sort of clinical treatments for things like depression, and it's also a seat of other signals for reward and pleasure and the concept of the self. So lots of things are happening in that area and it's, I think, fascinating that engaging with art also engages that same area."The Art Fund says it will bring the EEG headset to other museums across the UK