"Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health" by Daisy Fancourt

Many consider the arts a hobby or a luxury. But what if they were actually a genuine resource for our wellbeing? What if they held real healing power, as the traditions of Arab and Ayurvedic medicine have long claimed?

Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning researcher and leading authority on the powerful relationship between the arts and health, draws on solid scientific evidence to reveal the transformative power of this pairing. The numerous studies reviewed show that songs foster structural brain development in children; that visual art and music reduce depression, stress and pain with effects comparable to those of medication; that dance builds new neural connections after brain trauma; that attending concerts, exhibitions and performances lowers the future risk of isolation and frailty; and that artistic activities slow cognitive decline and are beneficial in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Above all, Fancourt reveals the most effective tools for healing ourselves in a healthy way. Grounded in the most advanced research in neuroscience, psychology, immunology, physiology, behavioral science and epidemiology, and enriched with moving personal accounts, The Art of Cure is an essential and engaging practical guide to building your own personal "artistic prescription."

With a foreword by Pier Luigi Sacco, Catterina Seia and Annalisa Cicerchia.

The translation of this work was made possible thanks to the support of SEPS – the European Secretariat for Scientific Publications.