ABSTRACT
The premise of this chapter is that through studying published neuroscience research which underpins the sensory and metaphorical processes employed in clay work, art therapists will begin to understand the most fundamental aspects of their work and positively influence art therapy practice. Increasingly neuroscientific research is being used as a way to explain the effective processes within art therapy and we therefore present recent neuroscientific and neuro-psychological research as an explanatory tool for the effectiveness of the sensory processes, metaphor and symbolism involved in clay work. We also discuss studies that begin to explain why an altered perception of body image occurs in eating disorders, the effect of emotion on vision, aesthetics on emotion, and the link between embodiment and metaphor. The impact of evolution on body image, beauty and vision are also explored, along with embodiment, empathy, and clay work. The studies mentioned in this chapter are also used to underpin the findings from the case studies within the concluding chapter.
