Unit 7: Neuroscience + Art

Map of neurons 

The brain is a complex organ central to our personality and individuality, and responsible for our vivid dreams and our consciousness (Vesna). Although, there is ongoing debates as to what it really means to be conscious or unconscious, we know the brain is vital for our cognitive processes. Neurons are the "butterflies of our soul" (Vesna), and are what allows information to be received and transmitted. Ramón y Cajal is known as the Father of neuroscience, and was able to deduce connections between neurons by looking at their shape. One of Ramón y Cajal's work titled "Architecture of Life" illustrates the complexity and complications of the neural connections. His depiction of a neuron reminds me of a tree, with the neural connections branching out from the root or start of a single neuron.

Building upon the foundation that Ramón y Cajal laid out, artist Greg Dunn uses a technique known as microetching to depict the neurons. While Ramón y Cajal's art was hand drawn, Dunn uses a computer to create a high-resolution image and finishes off with gold leaf to achieve a modern aesthetic. He suitably titles his work "Cortical Circuitboard", as the neurons do eerily resemble connections within a computer circuit.  

Modern depiction of neurons

A realistic, but fake street

The fascination of neuroscience led to the rise of neuroculture, where neuroscience permeates into our daily lives (Frazzetto and Anker). We see neuroscience in multiple aspects of our culture from video games to tv commercials for various medicines. There is even a city-wide festival called "Brainwave" in New York!

There are no physical limits to our dreams, and as Jung believed, they often represent our collective unconscious (Vesna). The brain has the ability to remap and accommodate to current stimuli and environment (Cohen). Known as neuroplasticity the brain can change itself by remodeling neurons (Frazzetto and Anker). This concept is important for the adjustment of our brains to our environment. Interestingly, our memories are also changeable (Max). Artist Qifeng Chen created an AI that designs a street based on an imaginative neural network (Reynolds). Chen programmed his AI to create realistic scenes based upon what the brain is familiar with in terms of street layout. This street looks like a real street, but does not exist in this world, which leads me to wonder about the limitations of the brain and its ability to be deceived based on the reliance of patterns. 

Sources:
Cohen, Mark. "Neuroscience-Mark Cohen.mov." YouTube, uploaded by Victoria Vesna, 12 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDq8uTROeXU
Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 10, 2009, pp. 815-821, https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2736. Accessed 17 May 2018. 
Max, D.T.. "Swann's Hypothesis." The New York Times, 4 November 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/books/review/Max-t.html, Accessed 20 May 2018. 
Reynold, Matt. "AI artist conjures up convincing fake worlds from memories." New Scientist, 14 August 2017. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2143784-ai-artist-conjures-up-convincing-fake-worlds-from-memories/. Accessed 20 May 2018. 
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt2.mov." YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFv4owX3MZo

Image Sources: 
Chen, Qifeng. "AI artist conjures up convincing fake worlds from memories." https://www.newscientist.com/article/2143784-ai-artist-conjures-up-convincing-fake-worlds-from-memories/. Accessed 20 May 2018. 
Dunn, Greg. "Cortical Circuitboard." https://www.livescience.com/49060-brain-artwork-gallery.html. Accessed 20 May 2018. 
Ramon y Cajal, Santiago. "Architecture of Life." https://www.artsy.net/artist/santiago-ramon-y-cajal?page=1&sort=-partner_updated_at. Accessed 20 May 2018.