Unit 7: Neuroscience & Art

In Giovanni Frazzetto and Suzanne Anker's "Neuroculture", we yet again see how science and art must work together to benefit society as a whole. The field of neuroscience is yet another example of how collaboration is needed between the two cultures in order for us to develop better. As outlined in "Neuroculture", the scientific community is responsible for presenting their findings while the artists take these concepts and help us understand them better.

Building on that thought, art and science cannot exist without the other. On its own, science has a hard time helping the general public become aware of discoveries. Ramon Cajal's research and illustrations regarding brain cells have served as an inspiration for artists and scientists alike.

Drawing By Ramon Cajal

Without artistic influences it is unlikely that concepts such as Brainbow, where different colors are used to track nerve cells, would have come to existence. What we know about the brain is still nowhere near complete.

Brainbow Zebrafish Embryo

Due to our limited understanding findings have the ability to strongly influence the public opinion of identity and mental well-being. This is evident in the popularity of phrenology during the 19th century. As mentioned by Frazzetto and Anker, brain "images have the power to alter conceptions of personality and identity". This places a tremendous responsibility on the shoulders of artists who can create these images through their own interpretations.
 

Artistic Illustration of Brain in Neuronal Forest

Bibliography

Artistic Illustration of Brain in Neuronal Forest. Digital image. Visual News. Visual News, 19 May 2011. Web. 16 May 2015. <http://www.visualnews.com/2011/05/19/building-the-supercomputer-brain/>.
"Brainbow." Brainbow. Center for Brain Science, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.

DeFelipe, Javier, and Santiago Ramón Y Cajal. Cajal's Butterflies of the Soul: Science and Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Drawing By Ramon Cajal. Digital image. Nobel Prize Watch. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2015. <https://nobelprizewatch.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/how-not-to-give-a-nobel-lecture/>.
Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Review Neuroscience 10 (2009): 815-21. Web.

Pan, Albert. Brainbow Zebrafish Embryo. Digital image. A Colorful Zebrafish. The Smithsonian Institution, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 May 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-colorful-zebrafish-42081312/>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neuroscience-pt1” Lecture. Youtube, 16 May 2015. Web. 17 May 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.