Professor Vesna explained that our mind has a conscious and unconscious component to it. She defined consciousness as the state or condition in which one is aware of his or her personal identity and the unconsciousness as the opposite. Touching upon this, neuroscience and art have a "one-sided" relationship. People may not realize it, but without the help of our neurons, we would be unable to appreciate, and more or less perceive art. Even as technology advanced, there was not much information about neuroscience until the creation of the microscope and electricity.
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| With the invention of the microscope, the study of a whole new field of science was possible. |
Professor Vesna talked about two important scientists. One was Franz Joseph Gall who pioneered what we call phrenology, the determination of an individual intellect and personality based on skull shape. Essentially, the shape of a certain region would give insight to a person's personality or intellect depending on the area. He was also the first to identify grey matter and white matter of the brain.
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| The brain is one of the most complex and beautiful works of art. |
The other was Santiago Ramon y Cajal who is regarded as the founder of neuroanatomy. He gave much insight to the understanding of the neuron. The neuron is made up of three regions known as the cell body, the axon, and the dendrite. The dendrites extend from the cell body and is the means for how a neuron receives information from other neurons. Once they receive this message, neurons use their axons to send electrical signals to other neurons nearby which eventually lead to signals being recognized by the brain and then allowing movement accordingly. Cajal discovered that you could read out the connection patterns of neurons depending on their shape, describing the "tree-like input and output structures" are not only beautiful but also efficient in the way they attached to other neurons. Cajal created many drawings of neurons which are still used in textbooks today.
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| Neurons in the brain allow for transmitting of cues and allow for us to perceive. |
Cajal's work with neuroanatomy and his drawings of the neurons is just one example which show the beauty of the brain. As weird as it may sound, the brain itself is an artwork. The drawings of the branching of the neurons is just one example. In this way, neuro art definitely has its own beauty and uniqueness. Just like with all art, with a little creativity and technology, it is possible to produce art from things we might not have guessed.
Cherry, Kendra. Neurons - Building Blocks of the Nervous System. Verywell. N.p., N.d., Web.
The Neuron. BrainFacts.org. Society for Neuroscience. 1 Apr. 2012. Web.
Vesna, Victoria. Neuroscience-pt1.mov. Youtube. Youtube. 17 May. 2012. Web. 21 May. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI
Vesna, Victoria. Neuroscience-pt2.mov. Youtube. Youtube. 17 May. 2012. Web. 21 May. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFv4owX3MZo
Vesna, Victoria. Neuroscience pt3. Youtube. Youtube. 16 May. 2012. Web. 21 May. 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0
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