We know neuroscience and art are connected when our own "Father of Neuroscience," Ramon y Cajal, started off wanting to be an artist. Cajal, best known for his discovery of neurons ("mysterious butterflies of the soul") as the foundation of our nervous system, started off scribbling on paper, books, walls, gates, and all other surfaces. However, his curiosity lead him to take interest in light microscopes, and he was soon dedicated to improving cell staining techniques and drawing the intricate designs he saw under the microscope. According to Cajal, only artists are attracted to science, which I can connect to, as an engineer who also wanted to be an artist at a young age. 
Brainbow intrigued me as a fun integration of art and neuroscience. It is a process of labeling each nerve cell with a different color in order to track pathways of different regions in the brain. Not only does it help with the study of cerebral functions, but it also produces beautiful rainbow images that are almost like abstract paintings.
What shocked me the most this week was the experiments with the psychedelic drug, LSD. Albert Hofmann's self experiment with the drug caused him to experience hallucinations and distorted vision. Interestingly enough, the drug caused the brain to produce wonderful images of the imagination filled with vibrant color that could essentially be viewed as art. Part of art is like bending reality, which is what LSD does to the human mind. I thought Project Mkultra, even though it was for research purposes, went beyond the boundaries of science by using people's minds as experimental pawns. Like biotech, there comes a limit to how much science should meddle and I think, in general, playing with LSD is too dangerous to be worth experimenting on human bodies.
Sources:
"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. Center for Brain Science, 2007. Web. 16 July 2014. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.
Melissa. "Project Mkultra: One of the Most Shocking CIA Programs of All Time." Gizmodo. N.p., 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://gizmodo.com/project-mkultra-one-of-the-most-shocking-cia-programs-1370236359>.
Parrish, Michael. "Santiago Ramon Y Cajal: "The Father of Neuroscience" - Brain Connection." Brain Connection RSS. Posit Science, 2013 Feb. 6. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://brainconnection.brainhq.com/2013/02/26/santiago-ramon-y-cajal-the-father-of-neuroscience/>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt3.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I also found Brainbow very fascinating--simly by showing what the brain really looks like can we produce art! In my own blog, I also talked about the Project Mulkutra and I totally agree with you that it crossed the line. The side effect of LSD is undeniable. Also, I believe there are enough beautiful things in our lives to produce good artistic work and we should not rely on hallucination.
ReplyDeleteI love how you incorporated the cerebral images in your blog. These are such beautiful pieces of art with the colors and patterns. I wish I could go to an art gallery that centered around the art brain images
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