Neuroscience and Art

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Week 7: Neuroscience and Art
Pattriana Perry
Purkinje and Granule Cells from Pigeon Ceregellum
by Santiago Ramon y Cajal, 1899.

This week’s lecture and readings focused on the overlap of Neuroscience and Art. Neuroscience is the study of the brain. We looked at three major topics surrounding the brain - (1) the discovery of the brain and its structure and chemistry, (2) dreams and the unconscious mind, and (3) mind-altering chemicals. The brain has such a central function in our body and there is so much mystery surrounding it - there is no surprise it has fascinated and inspired artists for centuries.
Professor Vesna began with the history of the study of the human brain. Ramon Ikahal and Franz Joseph Gall were two critical figures in the study of brain anatomy and structure. Later, Santiago Ramon y Cajal made huge advances in the study of neurons and their connections. 

When discussing dreams and the unconscious mind, I thought about the movie Inception. This movie was about the main character devising a scheme to plant an idea in the subconscious of a target by using experimental military shared-dreaming technology. The movie stacked layers of dreams on top of each other; making the consciousness seem limitless at times. It was really confusing at first and made me think of questions such as: where do the subconscious end and the conscious begin? In addition, I wonder how dreams work; there are people in my dream that I never have seen before or remember seeing and somehow they are the main character in my dream. It just shows how the brain is powerful and contains more information than we notice.
Image result for lsd
Mind-altering chemicals were another fascinating topic discussed. In the lecture, Professor Vesna talked about how in looking to see what affected the brains’ function, Albert Hoffman first created the psychedelic drug LSD. LSD stands for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. The Physiological effects of LSD can be variable; however, pupil dilation, reduced appetite, and wakefulness are the three main physical effects. Whenever I hear about LSD, I picture a drug addict and their mind going crazy. Even though LSD is highly associated with the negative effects it causes, there has been some research to show that LSD has benefits as well. For instance, LSD can help alcoholics with their drinking addition. Whether it is harming or helping an individual, LSD is a powerful drug that can alter the neural functioning of the brain.

References
Anker, Suzanne, & Giovanni Frazzetto.  "Neuroculture."  Perspectives.  Volume 10. Nov. 2009. Macmillan Publishers Limited.  Article.
Hollywoodstreams. "'Inception' Trailer 2 HD." YouTube. N.p., 10 May 2010. Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM>.

“LSD in 3 Minutes.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM6a9bSWFM.

Vesna, Victoria. "Consciousness / Memory." CA, Los Angeles. YouTube. Web. 17 May 2015.

“9 Things You Need To Know About the Drug LSD (Acid).”The Third Wave, The Third Wave, 
thethirdwave.co/psychedelics/lsd/.

Comments

  1. KhrisMay 21, 2018 at 9:15 PM

    Hello Pattriana!

    You dive in a good topic for discussion. I also wonder how our subconscious mind work, it is something we really don't control yet it just happens. Furthermore, it also goes in with the idea of why we do not remember our dreams after we wake up. Why do we get dreams in the first place? Is it a evolutionary trait that was important generations ago? It is quite interesting to think about. You also talked about LSD in which case controls our minds as well. I guess we have to wait on future research to see why dreams are made and how that is connected to the effects of drugs. Overall, you open a great discussion in the research field.

    ReplyDelete

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