week 7 neurosci+art

Neuroscience further expands on the intersection of art and medical technology. The study of the brain and the nervous system began with trying to understand what it functioned as and what its subunits were. This is similar to how scientists and artists carried out dissection of cadavers to understand the other parts of the human body. Unlike the centuries of studying muscle and organ anatomy, scientists and artists have only studied the brain for a century due to its inaccessibility. People ignored the brain, and Aristotle and the ancient Egyptians according to Dr. Eric Chudler considered the heart as the organ that did the thinking.This changed with Galen's ideas but no further study of the brain was done. In the 19th century, Franz Joseph Gall brought about the theory of the distribution of functions to the brain's regions, called phrenology. It was partly incorrect.  Then Ramon y Cajal, one of the first neuroscientists, produced artistic and highly accurate images of the brain's anatomy and the neurons that made up the brain. 

Ramon y Cajal's drawing of neurons observed under light microscope

In the modern times, with the use of biotechnology's fluorescent labeling methods scientists and artists can gain an even better understanding of the neurons making up the nervous system. For example, the Brainbow process allows for the differential labelling of cells using a complex combination of fluorescence genes (Tsien). Using confocal fluorescence microscopy, one can produce very detailed, colorful, artistic images of nervous system tissues and the individual cells that make up the tissues (Livet et al.). Having studied an introduction to this technique in one of my life science classes, the methods for getting Brainbow to work involve as much artistic creativity as scientific rigor.

 

The complex, artistic chart shows the instructions for cells to produce brainbow and images of brainbow cells

In addition to imaging of neural cells, the psychological workings of the mind and the psychedelic drugs that could alter it were explored in both art and science. Freud's famous postulates about the conscious and subconscious thoughts of the mind are still taught in introductory psychology classes, and controversial writers such as Aldous Huxley hypothesize the effects of drugs mass introduced to society such as Brave New World based on their own experiments. Psychedelic drugs such as LSD were once viewed as acceptable for delving into the human mind in the 1950's (McWilliams and Tuttle 341).

Cover of Brave New World, with psychedelic drug pill in the center

References

Chudler, Eric. "Neuroscience for Kids - Ancient "Brain"" Neuroscience for Kids - Ancient "Brain" N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2015. <https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/papy.html>.

Huxley, Aldous. "Brave New World Revisited." Brave New World Revisited (1958) by Aldous Huxley. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2015. <http://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/>.

Livet, J., et al. "Transgenic strategies for combinatorial expression of fluorescent proteins in the nervous system." Nature. Vol. 450. England2007. 56-62. Print.

McWilliams, S. A., and R. J. Tuttle. "Long-term psychological effects of LSD." Psychol Bull 79.6 (1973): 341-51. Print.

Tsien, R. Y. "The green fluorescent protein." Annu Rev Biochem 67 (1998): 509-44. Print.