Neural Correlates of Aesthetic Tragedy: Evidence for Enhanced Semantic Processing and Cognitive Control in Response to Tragic Versus Joyful Music

Philosophers and psychologists have long examined the paradox of negative emotions in art, yet its neural underpinnings remain insufficiently understood. This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare neural responses to the opening phrases of major- and minor-mode musical themes during the recapitulation section of first-movement sonata form.