Week 7: NeuroSci + Art

BrainSTORM: People's Choice Winner at Art in Neuroscience event at Queensland Brian Institute

As Frazzetto mentions in Neuroculture, the public interest and investment in neuroscience has birthed a “neuro-culture.” Many artists have been inspired by the advances that neuroscientists have made. Additionally, our lack of complete understanding of the brain has left a gap in knowledge. Our fascination with the brain and our deep desire to understand ourselves forces us to look to artists to fill this knowledge gap with their creativity. It is as if we are all trying to find ourselves in “neuro-art.” Carl Jung mentions that we are fascinated with psychology because it gives us something that the outer world has not given us.

This Cortex is on Fire!: Scientific winner at Art in Neuroscience event at Queensland Brian Institute

Another fascinating aspect of neuroscience is memories (or lack thereof). Memories are such an abstract constant in our lives. We try many things, such as writing journals or meditation, to keep memories alive (Wheeler). And yet we always seem to forget that “a memory is only as real as the last time you remembered it” (Max). Our memories are constantly evolving because each time because each time we remember something, the details get fuzzier and fuzzier. Perhaps one of the reasons why we love neuro-art is that it reminds us of our weakness: the ability to forget.

Scans of the brain depicting gray matter. Performed by UCLA Neuroscientists

We have a similar fascination with computers because we think that computers are a simpler version of the brain. As Penrose mentions, we could not be further form the truth because “conscious thinking, or conscious understanding, is something different from computation.” We’ve created these incredibly fast, and complex machines (or pieces of art?) and yet we still do not understand an integral part of ourselves. I think that we will continue to be incredibly fascinated by and interested in “neuro-art” for as long as we do not understand the brain.

Bibliography

Frazzetto, Giovanni & Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews (2009): 815-821. Web.

Jung, Carl. "The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man." (1928). Web.

Max, D. T. "Swann's Hypothesis." New York Times 4 Nov 2007. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/books/review/Max-t.html.

Penrose, Roger. Consciousness Involves Noncomputable Ingredients. 1995. Web. 19 May 2018.

Wheeler, Mark. "How to Build a Bigger Brain." UCLA Newsroom 12 May 2009. Web. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/how-to-build-a-bigger-brain-91273.

Images

Chen, Kok-Siong. This Cortex is on Fire!. 29 November 2016. Web. 20 May 2018.

           https://qbi.uq.edu.au/article/2016/11/best-neuroscience-images-2016.

Jang, Se Eun (Joanne). BrainSTORM. 29 November 2016. Web. 20 May 2018. 

           https://qbi.uq.edu.au/article/2016/11/best-neuroscience-images-2016.

Wheeler, Mark. "How to Build a Bigger Brain." UCLA Newsroom 12 May 2009. Web. 

           http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/how-to-build-a-bigger-brain-91273.