Week 7 | Neuroscience+Art | Assignment

Neuroscience+Art 

This week we focused on looking at all things that surround the brain and mind. How does our consciousness work? What is information culture? What is neuroscience? In the beginning on the lecture professor Vesna proposed an intriguing question: Is mind control inevitable? I think that mind control is not inevitable, but the potential for influencing thoughts and behaviors through advanced neurotechnologies and AI raises significant ethical and regulatory challenges. Ensuring robust safeguards and ethical guidelines is crucial to protect individual autonomy. 

According to Vesna consciousness is something that is still being researched til this day. Around 95% of our dreams are forgotten (Vesna, Unconscious Mind). The relationship between neuroscience and art is explored through neuroaesthetics, which examines how the brain perceives, processes, and creates art. Neuroscientists study visual processing in the brain, particularly in the primary visual cortex, which interprets basic visual elements like color and shape, and higher visual areas that recognize complex forms (Zeki, 1999). Emotional responses to art involve the amygdala and limbic system, regions crucial for processing emotions, and the brain's reward pathways, which are activated during pleasurable art experiences (Chatterjee, 2014).

Creativity in art involves the default mode network (DMN), associated with mind-wandering and idea generation, and the prefrontal cortex, crucial for divergent thinking (Ramachandran & Hirstein, 1999). Motor skills necessary for art creation involve the motor cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum, coordinating precise movements required for drawing, painting, or sculpting (Brown et al., 2011). 

Additionally, I think an intersection of neuroscience and art worlds can be seen through art therapy, which utilizes artistic expression to improve mental health and cognitive function, highlighting the role of neuroplasticity in rehabilitation (Chatterjee, 2014). Educational insights from neuroscience inform how art can enhance cognitive and emotional development, demonstrating the profound connection between neural mechanisms and artistic expression (Leder et al., 2004). 

Bibliography

“Neuroscience Wall Art: Prints, Framed Prints and Multi Panel Art.” Elephant Stock, www.elephantstock.com/collections/neuroscience-wall-art. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Vesna, Victoria (2024).Unconscious Mind/Dreams. UCLA DESMA 9: Art, Science, and Technology. 

Zeki, Semir. "Art and the Brain."Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol. 6, no. 6-7, 1999, pp. 76-96.

Ramachandran, V.S., and William Hirstein. "The Science of Art: A Neurological Theory of Aesthetic Experience."Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol. 6, no. 6-7, 1999, pp. 15-51.

Chatterjee, Anjan. The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art. Oxford University Press, 2014.

Leder, Helmut, et al. "A Model of Aesthetic Appreciation and Aesthetic Judgments." British Journal of Psychology*, vol. 95, no. 4, 2004, pp. 489-508.

Brown, Steven, et al. "Dance and the Brain: A Review."Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1225, no. 1, 2011, pp. 24-46.