Hostname: page-component-669899f699-2mbcq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T19:54:25.194Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Unravelling Stendhal syndrome: the intersection of art, emotion and neuroscience

Part of: BJPsych Features: Unravelling Stendhal Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2024

Lien-Chung Wei Open the ORCID record for Lien-Chung Wei [Opens in a new window]
Lien-Chung Wei*
Affiliation:
Department of Addiction Psychiatry, Taoyuan Psychiatric Center, Republic of China Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
*
Correspondence: Lien-Chung Wei. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Stendhal syndrome represents a compelling psychosomatic response, characterised by intense emotional and physiological reactions to viewing art, that intersects the fields of psychiatry, neurology and aesthetics. Despite lacking formal diagnostic recognition, a confluence of historical anecdotes and contemporary research underscores its validity as a unique neuropsychiatric phenomenon. This review endeavours to integrate insights from various scholarly domains to elucidate the syndrome's clinical manifestations, neurobiological foundations and its cultural and psychological relevance. Through an examination of historical contexts, clinical case studies and the underlying neurological mechanisms, this article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Stendhal syndrome, thereby contributing to the broader discourse on neuroaesthetics and the profound impact of art on human emotion and cognition.

Keywords

Stendhal syndromeneuroaestheticspsychosomatic responseart and emotionneurology
Type
Feature
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 225 , Issue 5 , November 2024 , pp. 473 - 475
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Arias, M. Neurology of ecstatic religious and similar experiences: ecstatic, orgasmic, and musicogenic seizures. Stendhal syndrome and autoscopic phenomena. Neurologia 2019; 34: 55–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cruz Hermida, J. [The Gioconda from the historical and medical perspective (hypotheses of pathology in her painting)]. Anales de la Real Acad Nacional de Med 2001; 118: 807–27 (in Spanish).Google ScholarPubMed
Guerrero, AL, Barcelo Rossello, A, Ezpeleta, D. [Stendhal syndrome: origin, characteristics and presentation in a group of neurologists]. Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain) 2010; 25: 349–56 (in Spanish).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palacios-Sanchez, L, Botero-Meneses, JS, Pachon, RP, Hernandez, LBP, Triana-Melo, JDP, Ramirez-Rodriguez, S. Stendhal syndrome: a clinical and historical overview. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatr 2018; 76: 120–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicholson, TR, Pariante, C, McLoughlin, D. Stendhal syndrome: a case of cultural overload. BMJ Case Rep [Epub ahead of print] 20 Feb 2009. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr.06.2008.0317.Google Scholar
Innocenti, C, Fioravanti, G, Spiti, R, Faravelli, C. [The stendhal syndrome between psychoanalysis and neuroscience]. Rivista di Psichiatr 2014; 49: 61–6 (in Italian).Google ScholarPubMed
Woods, G. Idles: ‘Stendhal syndrome’ – psychiatry in music. Br J Psychiatry 2017; 211: 333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.