So I have just discovered the Journal of Neuroaesthetics on an awesome site called Artbrain. This is a tremendous relief: there are others out there who obsess about similar things. Like, how attention forms the basis for our interaction with the world; how art changes the brain; how language and thought interact; how aesthetics may augment learning etc. etc. etc. Wikipedia states that this new subfield was defined in 2002 as the study of "the neural basis for the contemplation and creation of a work of art."
This is exactly where I belong. More as I explore.