Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

Neuroscience and art, much like the nerve tissues comprising our very neurons, are inexplicably intertwined – and perhaps nowhere is this intersection of the physical with the metaphysical, the perceptive with the imaginative, more beautifully captured than in the stunning visuals of the "brainbow". This week’s lectures and readings presented a perspective that traced the development of the field of neuroscience and psychology, from Santiago Ramon y Cajal’s blended interest in art and neuroscience as one to Jung’s work on the “collective unconscious” of universal archetypes present in all human creativity. For this blog post, I will focus on concept of “brainbows” – the assignment of colored “labels” to different nerves  - as an extension of the development of neuroscience and its unending relationship with the influential aesthetics of artistic expression.

The brainbow of a zebrafish, showing neural tissue labeled throughout the body of the organism.
http://www.mbl.edu/photo-contest/archives/2010-winners/

The conceptual underpinnings of brainbows draw key scientific influence from the idea that the brain is divided into subsections that control different thoughts and functions. As explained by Professor Cohen (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDq8uTROeXU), Franz Joseph Gall’s insight that the brain is compartmentalized, although incorrectly articulated, contributed to many further advances in neuroscience, and “brainbows” allow the trace of different individual neurons that serve different functions through the tagging of these specific neurons in spectacular colors. This particularly fascinated me, primarily because I had never seen something so spectacularly beautiful in a lab environment. The spectacular images presented evoke a powerful understanding of how the neurons work in concert to perform incredibly complex functions, and how these cells intertwine to operate in concert to govern our thoughts, feelings, and physical functions. Extending this concept beyond human functioning, one can observe the neural activity of other organisms in order to further understand their complex neuroanatomy.Hidden within such beauty is a key insight into our mental faculties, located at a crucial intersection of art and science.

A "brainbow" of the human brain, hinting at the complex beauty of compartmentalization.
http://www.feelguide.com/2011/03/02/harvard-researchers-unlocking-deep-mysteries-of-brain-with-technicolor-brainbow-technique/

Overall, this concept proved most interesting to me, and the images are truly captivating. They serve – beyond their numerous applications - as testaments to the power of our brains, and the beauty of our inner selves. I am truly mesmerized, and hope to explore this issue further as I continue my journey through art, science, and design in this course.

The beautiful array of colors is absolutely captivating
https://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/the_100_colours_of_the_brainbow/

Works Cited

"Brainbow: About." Brainbow. Harvard Neuroscience Edu, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.

Costandi, Mo. "The 100 Colours of the Brainbow." Mo Costandi. N.p., 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 17 May 2015.

Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Perspectives, Science and Society: Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10 (2009): n. pag. Web. 17 May 2015.

"Harvard Researchers Unlocking Deep Mysteries Of Brain With Technicolor “Brainbow” Technique." FEELguide. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.

"2010 MBL Scientific Photography Contest Winners." The MBL Scientific Photography Contest. MBL Science, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.