Before the lectures this week, I did
not realize that neuroscience and art had such a strong connection, or any
connection whatsoever. According to Giovanni Frazzetto and Suzanne Anker, “Artists
in particular draw on publicly available references that illustrate, among
other things, scientific images and the natural world. In neuroculture, such
references specifically describe knowledge about the brain and mind” (Anker and
Frazzetto). Artists are able to covey neuroscience to the public to help us
understand both the complexity and beauty of our minds and bodies. Frazzetto
and Anker’s idea becomes vey clear when you look at Suzanne Anker’s fMRI
Butterfly and Jeff Lichtman’s Brainbow.
Anker took 15 fMRI scans of the
human brain with the image of a butterfly in the center and different inkblots
superimposed on the butterfly. “The overlays of the butterfly, MRI scans and
inkblots yield nuanced variations in figure—ground relationships, creating in
the viewer subtle optical illusions . . . although the butterflies are
identical in each print, they seem different from one another” (Anker and
Frazzetto). She created these superimposed images to show the core neurological
processes and how they alter perception.
Of the different neuroscience art
we looked at, Lichtman’s Brainbow is my favorite. “The brainbow system, a
sophisticated transgenic technique, provided extraordinary pictures of neuronal
circuitry, rivalling artistic representations” (Anker and Frazzetto). The
brainbow uses a process by which individual neurons in the brain can be
distinguished from neighboring neurons using fluorescent proteins, which light
up in different colors. Not only does this help scientists locate, view, and
track different neurons for easy study, but the brain scans have a beautiful
and bright array of colors that depict how amazing the processes are that go on
in our brains.
The use of art to display neuroscience
gives the public an idea and visualization of the complicated processes that go
on within our minds and bodies. “The interaction between art and science offers
an opportunity to make the scientific community and the public aware of the
social and ethical implications of the scientific advances in neuroscience”
(Anker and Frazzetto).
 |
| "Minds Wide Open" http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/04/neuroscience/ |
Citations
Anker, Suzanne, and Giovanni Frazzetto.
"Neuroculture." 2009. MS Volume 10, Nature Reviews. N.p.
Gardner, Howard. "Art, Mind, And Brain: A Cognitive
Approach To Creativity." Google Books. Howard Gardner, 1982. Web.
10 May 2016.
<https://books.google.com/books?id=2BMDYRRF1WcC&dq=gardner%2B%22art%2Bmind%2Band%2Bbrain%22&printsec=frontcover&source=
web&ots=DYaIMCGy4j&sig=8yrvOMWISopSrN_fNXsYqUPJCgw&hl=en#v=onepage&q=gardner%20%22art%20mind%20and%20brain%22&f=false>.
Gorman, James. "Brains as Clear as Jell-O for
Scientists to Explore." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10
Apr. 2013. Web. 10 May 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/science/brains-as-clear-as-jell-o-for-scientists-to-explore.html?_r=0>.
Lichtman Et Al., and Livet Et Al. "Brainbow." Center
for Brain Science. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
<http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.
Lichtman, Jeff. "The Brainbow." DNA Learning
Center. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
<https://www.dnalc.org/view/2063-The-
brainbow.html>.
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