Unit 7: Neuroscience + Art
The brain has
always intrigued me because it is so complex and not fully understood. There
are so many intricate structures and neural pathways that a cross section of
the brain is a beautiful and detailed sight to see.
Photo from: http://www.ccis.edu/courses/psyc101a/brain.htm
This week, the
topic of dreams in Lecture II stood out to me most. Since I have gotten to
college, my sleep schedule has gone completely awry and is extremely
inconsistent. The fact that there are so many experiments and so much data
collected through sleep studies yet we still are not even close to
understanding how dreams work is a frightening and interesting thought. Sigmund
Freud’s career pursuing knowledge of the unconscious established the foundation
for the last century of researchers to find out more about the process of human
sleeping. Personally, I struggle to fall asleep every night and have tried an
array of different techniques which all ultimately fail. My self-sleep studies
have proven ineffective but I hope to one day read about a researcher who has
found a universal key to falling asleep.
Photo from: http://www.charlestonpulmonology.com/?p=348
Giovanni
Frazzetto and Suzanne Anker describe in their article how the interaction
between art and neuroscience is more commonly seen in the public forum. These
artful depictions allow for the spread of knowledge around the scientific
topic. Through more and more discussion, neuroscience can gain traction to
create careers and opportunities for breakthroughs in the field, while also
making us aware of the social and ethical implications that come along with
advances in the neuroscience world. This is something that has impacted me
directly as I have looked for sleep strategies to calm my brain and feel more
rested.
REFERENCES
"Art, Mind, And Brain: A Cognitive Approach To Creativity." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.
Bargh, John A. "Our Unconscious
Mind." Scientific American. 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 May 2016.
Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "PERSPECTIVES." Arms Control Today 4.6 (1974): 3-4. Web.
"Greg Dunn Design | Visual Art |
Neuroscience Art | Gold Leaf Painting." Greg Dunn Design. Web.
15 May 2016.
Meghnagi, D. "From the Dreams
of a Generation to the Theory of Dreams: Freud's Roman Dreams."INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS 92.3 (2011): 675-94. Web.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience + Art Lectures." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 11 May 2015. Lecture. Online
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience + Art Lectures." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 11 May 2015. Lecture. Online
Hi Jake,
ReplyDeleteI agree, the brain is so interesting and fascinating to learn about! This week we learned a lot about certain functions of the brain and how scientists and artists are continuing to learn more through new innovations and research. Dreaming and the sleeping cycle has always been something that interested me and it's amazing how much there is to learn about it. After learning about neuroscience and art it intrigues me to keep discovering more information and for fun, I would recommend researching and finding out more about how these functions affect us in our everyday lives!!
-Karly
Hi Jake,
ReplyDeleteGreat post this week, I found the lecture about sleep and dreams very interesting as well. My sleep schedule has also been very off since I've been at college, it will be very interesting to see what new discoveries and solutions scientists come up with to solve issues like that. This weeks lecture and your post motivated me to research new ways in which we can find solutions to people that are deprived of sleep.
Loved your commentary about sleep inconsistencies. I too would be interested to get a hands on understanding as to how sleep schedule effects our dreams and mental state. Not sure if you've heard of it, but there is a mobile app that offers sleep monitoring. The idea is that the app can track when you are experiencing REM and when you are having lighter sleep cycles. Apps like these are also demonstrations of intersections between technology and art.
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