Brain Art And Neuroscience

The first of its kind, this book examines artistic representations of the brain after the rise of the contemporary neurosciences, examining the interplay of art and science and tackling some of the critical-cultural implications. Weaving an MRI pattern onto a family quilt. Scanning the brain of a philosopher contemplating her own death and hanging it in a museum. Is this art or science or something in-between? What does it mean? How might we respond? In this ground-breaking new book, David R. Gruber explores the seductive and influential position of the neurosciences amid a growing interest in affect and materiality as manifest in artistic representations of the human brain. Contributing to debates surrounding the value and/or purpose of interdisciplinary engagement happening in the neuro-humanities, Gruber emphasizes the need for critical-cultural analysis within the field. Engaging with New Materialism and Affect Theory, the book provides a current and concrete example of the on-going shift away from constructivist lenses, arguing that the influence of relatively new neuroscience methods (EEG, MRI and fMRI) on the visual arts has not yet been fully realised. In fact, the very idea of a brain as it is seen and encountered today—or "The Brain," as Gruber calls it—remains in need of critical, wild and rebellious re-imagination. Illuminating how artistic engagement with the brain is often sensual and suggestive even if rooted in objectivist impulses and tied to scientific realism, this book is ideal for scholars in Art, Media Studies, Sociology, and English departments, as well visual artists and anyone seriously engaging discourses of the brain.

Could we understand, in biological terms, the unique and fantastic capabilities of the human brain to both create and enjoy art? In the past decade neuroscience has made a huge leap in developing experimental techniques as well as theoretical frameworks for studying emergent properties following the activity of large neuronal networks. These methods, including MEG, fMRI, sophisticated data analysis approaches and behavioral methods, are increasingly being used in many labs worldwide, with the goal to explore brain mechanisms corresponding to the artistic experience. The 37 articles composing this unique Frontiers Research Topic bring together experimental and theoretical research, linking state-of-the-art knowledge about the brain with the phenomena of Art. It covers a broad scope of topics, contributed by world-renowned experts in vision, audition, somato-sensation, movement, and cinema. Importantly, as we felt that a dialog among artists and scientists is essential and fruitful, we invited a few artists to contribute their insights, as well as their art. Joan Miró said that “art is the search for the alphabet of the mind.” This volume reflects the state of the art search to understand neurobiological alphabet of the Arts. We hope that the wide range of articles in this volume will be highly attractive to brain researchers, artists and the community at large.

This book analyzes and discusses in detail art therapy, a specific tool used to sustain health in affective developments, rehabilitation, motor skills and cognitive functions. Art therapy is based on the assumption that the process of making art (music, dance, painting) sparks emotions and enhances brain activity. Art therapy is used to encourage personal growth, facilitate particular brain areas or activity patterns, and improve neural connectivity. Treating neurological diseases using artistic strategies offers us a unique option for engaging brain structural networks that enhance the brain’s ability to form new connections. Based on brain plasticity, art therapy has the potential to increase our repertoire for treating neurological diseases. Neural substrates are the basis of complex emotions relative to art experiences, and involve a widespread activation of cognitive and motor systems. Accordingly, art therapy has the capacity to modulate behavior, cognition, attention and movement. In this context, art therapy can offer effective tools for improving general well-being, quality of life and motivation in connection with neurological diseases. The book discusses art therapy as a potential group of techniques for the treatment of neurological disturbances and approaches the relationship between humanistic disciplines and neurology from a holistic perspective, reflecting the growing interest in this interconnection.

Are art and science separated by an unbridgeable divide? Can they find common ground? In this new book, neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel, whose remarkable scientific career and deep interest in art give him a unique perspective, demonstrates how science can inform the way we experience a work of art and seek to understand its meaning. Kandel illustrates how reductionism—the distillation of larger scientific or aesthetic concepts into smaller, more tractable components—has been used by scientists and artists alike to pursue their respective truths. He draws on his Nobel Prize-winning work revealing the neurobiological underpinnings of learning and memory in sea slugs to shed light on the complex workings of the mental processes of higher animals. In Reductionism in Art and Brain Science, Kandel shows how this radically reductionist approach, applied to the most complex puzzle of our time—the brain—has been employed by modern artists who distill their subjective world into color, form, and light. Kandel demonstrates through bottom-up sensory and top-down cognitive functions how science can explore the complexities of human perception and help us to perceive, appreciate, and understand great works of art. At the heart of the book is an elegant elucidation of the contribution of reductionism to the evolution of modern art and its role in a monumental shift in artistic perspective. Reductionism steered the transition from figurative art to the first explorations of abstract art reflected in the works of Turner, Monet, Kandinsky, Schoenberg, and Mondrian. Kandel explains how, in the postwar era, Pollock, de Kooning, Rothko, Louis, Turrell, and Flavin used a reductionist approach to arrive at their abstract expressionism and how Katz, Warhol, Close, and Sandback built upon the advances of the New York School to reimagine figurative and minimal art. Featuring captivating drawings of the brain alongside full-color reproductions of modern art masterpieces, this book draws out the common concerns of science and art and how they illuminate each other.

Recent advances in neuroscience suggest that the human brain is particularly well-suited to design things: concepts, tools, languages and places. Current research even indicates that the human brain may indeed have evolved to be creative, to imagine new ideas, to put them into practice, and to critically analyze their results. Projective Processes and Neuroscience in Art and Design provides a forum for discussion relating to the intersection of projective processes and cognitive neuroscience. This innovative publication offers a neuroscientific perspective on the roles and responsibilities of designers, artists, and architects, with relation to the products they design. Expanding on current research in the areas of sensor-perception, cognition, creativity, and behavioral processes, this publication is designed for use by researchers, professionals, and graduate-level students working and studying the fields of design, art, architecture, neuroscience, and computer science.

Mobile Brain–Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity is a trans-disciplinary, collective, multimedia collaboration that critically uncovers the challenges and opportunities for transformational and innovative research and performance at the nexus of art, science and engineering. This book addresses a set of universal and timeless questions with a profound impact on the human condition: How do the creative arts and aesthetic experiences engage the brain and mind and promote innovation? How do arts–science collaborations employ aesthetics as a means of problem-solving and thereby create meaning? How can the creative arts and neuroscience advance understanding of individuality and social cognition, improve health and promote life-long learning? How are neurotechnologies changing science and artistic expression? How are the arts and citizen science innovating neuroscience studies, informal learning and outreach in the public sphere? Emerging from the 2016 and 2017 International Conferences on Mobile Brain–Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity held in Cancun, Mexico and Valencia, Spain to explore these topics, this book intertwines disciplines and investigates not only their individual products—art and data—but also something more substantive and unique; the international pool of contributors reveals something larger about humanity by revealing the state of the art in collaboration between arts and sciences and providing an investigational roadmap projected from recent advances. Mobile Brain–Body Imaging and the Neuroscience of Art, Innovation and Creativity is written for academic researchers, professionals working in industrial and clinical centers, independent researchers and artists from the performing arts, and other readers interested in understanding emergent innovations at the nexus of art, science, engineering, medicine and the humanities. The book contains language, design features (illustrations, diagrams) to develop a conversational bridge between the disciplines involved supplemented by access to video, artistic presentations and the results of a hackathon from the MoBI conferences.

At the crossroads of art and science, Beautiful Brain presents Nobel Laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience through his groundbreaking artistic brain imagery. Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) was the father of modern neuroscience and an exceptional artist. He devoted his life to the anatomy of the brain, the body’s most complex and mysterious organ. His superhuman feats of visualization, based on fanatically precise techniques and countless hours at the microscope, resulted in some of the most remarkable illustrations in the history of science. Beautiful Brain presents a selection of his exquisite drawings of brain cells, brain regions, and neural circuits with accessible descriptive commentary. These drawings are explored from multiple perspectives: Larry W. Swanson describes Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience; Lyndel King and Eric Himmel explore his artistic roots and achievement; Eric A. Newman provides commentary on the drawings; and Janet M. Dubinsky describes contemporary neuroscience imaging techniques. This book is the companion to a traveling exhibition opening at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis in February 2017, marking the first time that many of these works, which are housed at the Instituto Cajal in Madrid, have been seen outside of Spain. Beautiful Brain showcases Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience, explores his artistic roots and achievement, and looks at his work in relation to contemporary neuroscience imaging, appealing to general readers and professionals alike.

Frameworks -- Beauty -- Art -- Music -- Dance -- Architecture.