Week 7 || Neuroscience + Art


This week’s topic concerning neuroscience and art is something that particularly sparked my interested especially in terms of better understanding human consciousness and brain damage related to consciousness. In fact, earlier today I took a midterm in my nursing class on brain damage and various levels of consciousness. 

Often times, it is easy to see neuroscience as purely science. For example, one of the most famous cases for brain damage is the case of Phineas Gage who was in a railway accident that caused an iron rod to strike through Gage’s skull. The iron rod struck his left cheekbone and exited through the top of his skull. Although physically Gage was at good recovery and health, his mental condition greatly changed and deteriorated. His once cheerful and kind behavior instantly shifted to one of anger and spite. The iron rod damaged his front cortex which resulted in social inhibition loss and was irreversible. This story further proves the effect that brain damage has on the emotional aspect and mental health of an individual. Scientifically, consciousness and the perception of one’s surroundings are determined by our brains and neuroscience. 

However, with that, our conscious perception of art, therefore, is directly influenced by neuroscience. As Frazetto and Anker argue in “Neuroculture,” the development of neuroscience and a bettering of the understanding of the brain can be a “rich source of inspiration for the arts” (Frazetto & Anker 819). Neuroscience help deepen a richer appreciate for the reflection of the arts and allow for an artistic form of expression. For example, Greg Dunn is an artist who combines the realms of neuroscience and art into various paintings. He uses hyper-detailed animation to mirror the onlooker’s own mind when looking at images of the brain. He uses bright colors and intricate lines to outline the various cells in the brain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfeNtZODseA

Resources:
“Brain Case Study: Phineas Gage.” Big Picture, bigpictureeducation.com/brain-case-study-phineas-gage.
Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. “Neuroculture.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 10, no. 11, 2009, pp. 815–821., doi:10.1038/nrn2736.
WDrinker. “Greg Dunn Presents ‘Self Reflected’ at The Franklin Institute.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Jan. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfeNtZODseA.
“MIND AND NATURE by Gregory Bateson.” EVERY SCHOOLBOY KNOWS ..., www.oikos.org/mind&nature.htm.
“Phineas Gage.” Pax on Both Houses, 18 Mar. 2017, mindwise-groningen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Gage-Dangerous-Brain.jpg. http://mindwise-groningen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Gage-Dangerous-Brain.jpg
“Self Reflected – Greg Dunn Design.” Greg Dunn Design, www.gregadunn.com/self-reflected/.
“Self-Reflected in Violets.” Glenn Dunn Design, July 2016, east.zornitsadesign.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Self-Reflected-in-violets.jpg.
Varela, Francisco J., et al. The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. The MIT Press, 2016.


Comments

  1. Daniel YiMay 18, 2018 at 3:52 PM

    I really like how you incorporated Gage's case to neuroscience to show how important our brains are in our lives. Also, great choice of artwork (Greg Dunn) to explicate your point!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 22, 2018 at 1:54 PM

    Hello Rebekah,
    I really enjoyed your blog post on the connection of neuroscience and its affects on the human body. Like you I am also a nursing major here at UCLA, and I find it interesting how this idea and research on neuroscience affects our daily lives and interactions. One thing I found to be very interesting was your example about Paineas Gage and how he had an iron rod in his head. It is fascinating to me how this correlation between brain damage and human characteristics can change someone who personality as It did to Gage.

    ReplyDelete

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