Effects of Museum Visits on Neurocognitive Well-being

The effects of art on health and well-being have been the subject of increasing exploration in recent years. In 2019, the World Health Organization proposed a literature review analyzing the links between art, health (defined as a state of good functioning) and well-being. Currently, the majority of research has focused on populations presenting pathologies (somatic, neurological or psychiatric), very often in older adults. Furthermore, exposure to art (unlike the practice of an artistic activity) still remains under-investigated. However, recent publications (review and longitudinal study) suggest that attending museums would be associated with an increase in well-being, in people with or without pathology. Supported by the Blood \& Brain @ Caen Normandy Scientific Interest Group and the Museum of Fine Arts as part of the Millennium festivities of the city of Caen, the partnership between three Caen laboratories and a Parisian laboratory enabled the drawing of this innovative research which will aim to measure the effects of visiting a museum dedicated to painting on well-being in healthy adults. It will also involve identifying the cerebral, cognitive and socio-emotional processes associated with these effects, via comprehensive and ecologically adapted measurements. Through understanding the mechanisms specific to exposure to art which promote well-being, this research could have implications for: 1. Promote synergy between cultural and health policies. 2. Design museum experiences as close as possible to human functioning. 3. Open up to new perspectives such as the role of exposure to art in maintaining good health, with the possibility in the longer term of considering research on other arts, other populations, in a lifespan approach. 4. Open up to other studies of the same type involving pairs of patients and caregivers, young people and seniors, etc.