Week 7: Neuroscience & Art

 Katherine McNamara 

Neuroscience & Art 

    Neuroscience and consciousness play huge roles in art because the expression of emotion is essential to powerful art. Artists use what is happening in their brains to create projects and work personal to them. Artists can express almost any emotion through painting, film, music, literature, etc. For many, people need to use art as their therapy or formulation of feelings. 

136 Artists Try To Show What Depression Looks Like | Bored Panda
Depiction of depression through art. 

    For one of my general education classes at UCLA, I took Psychiatry 79 which was neuroscience of productivity and wellbeing. This class was taught by a neuroscientist, Alexander Korb, and was designed to help students learn to reverse the "downward spiral" of depression and be more productive. His class and work are extraordinary examples of art and neuroscience because they tell people how to help themselves. Alexander has a book called The Upward Sprial which teaches the basics of our brain anatomy and functions, gives ideas to help reverse depression, and shares personal experiences of Korb's life. For Korb, it was essential to use his scientific knowledge and write his book to come to terms with his experiences with depression. 

The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time by Alex Korb | Goodreads
The Upward Spiral, by Alex Korb

    Investigating the artistic pieces that resulted from drugs such as LSD is interesting.  Other than taking the drug yourself the options to understand the feeling are limited and the only ways to explain the experience of taking drugs are art and verbal descriptions. Art is probably  It was fascinating to see the different pieces that resulted from artists taking LSD because I have never tried it. The "reality" they experienced when on the drug appears extremely colorful and animated. I get the sense that hallucinogenic drugs reveal some creativity of the brain that is otherwise confined. I often hear stories of people seeing and imagining things they've never seen before when they are high. The state of consciousness when induced by drugs exceeds what they normally experience. 

LSD EYE" Art Board Print for Sale by Morphey22 | Redbubble
LSD Art

References 

DeCharms, Christopher. “A Look inside the Brain in Real Time.” Christopher deCharms: A Look inside the Brain in Real Time | TED Talk, www.ted.com/talks/christopher_decharms_a_look_inside_the_brain_in_real_time?language=en. Accessed 13 May 2024.

“Fearing - the Amygdaloids.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 July 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMI3hbgRj6o.

Jay, Daniel. “NEUROSCIENCE + ART with Daniel Jay." AMay 13, 2024. UCLA Lecture.

Vesna, Victoria. “Consciousness / Memory." April 23, 2024. UCLA Lecture.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neuroscience and Art part 2." AMay 13, 2024. UCLA Lecture.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neuroscience and Art part 3." AMay 13, 2024. UCLA Lecture.

Images

Depression. https://www.boredpanda.com/depression-through-art/.

Korb, Alex. The Upwards Spiral. GoodReads.

Morphey22. LSD Eye Board Art. Redbubble, https://www.redbubble.com/i/art-board-print/LSD-EYE-by-Morphey22/43130315.7Q6GI.



Comments

  1. Khalil MeansMay 16, 2024 at 7:11 PM

    Hi Katherine,
    Your investigation into the relationship between neuroscience and art is fascinating because it highlights the strong ties that exist between mental health and creativity. I enjoyed you mention of Alexander Korb's work, which shows how scientific knowledge can be used to negotiate difficult emotional terrain and illuminate the therapeutic potential of both art and neuroscience when addressing issues like depression. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elise ZurMay 31, 2024 at 6:08 PM

    Hi Katherine, I really enjoyed reading your blog post -- specifically I loved hearing your take on the material. Your discussion about your Psychiatry course was really interesting as I have never heard about "reversing depression" however it makes sense in regards to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -- changing the thoughts has lasting impacts on one's behaviors. I also thought it was really interesting to hear you say that unless you have taken LSD, art is one of the only ways a person can express what it's like to take a hallucinogenic drug. Great post this week!

    ReplyDelete

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