Week 7 Neurosci + Art

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who is known as the father of modern neuroscience, created many phenomenal drawings that clearly illustrated the structure of the brain. Long before neuroimaging's existance, Cajal crafted drawings from countless brain cell observations. He realized that the brain was a network of neurons, and down his path of contributions, he earned a Nobel prize in 1906. Here are two of his illustrations, Mammalian Retina on the left, and the nueral circuitry on the right. 

Artist and neurologist Dr. Greg Dunn and Dr.Brian Edwards who is an artist and applied physicist created a project named Self Reflected. It shows an accurate representation of a slice of brain through a technique called microetching. Dunn stated that Self Reflected's purpose is to mirror the functioning of the viewer's mind. it is a direct reflection of human conciousness. Two neuroscience undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, Melissa Beswick and Carl Wittig, contributed to the project by collecting insightful data. Information of neuron cell's, their size location and relationship with other neurons of connection. Here are some final images of the project. 

The project is in a mature state, however, the two are working on the next stages of potential development. Their vision is to make the technology available for educational purposes. As they said, hoping to create an educational kit for the public. In my opinion, the aesthetics of the project is very attractive. The functional and aesthetic value of this project is quite an accomplishment. 

Art is only as much as the viewer's interpretation and understanding. Our brain is the bridge of observation and interpretation. Thus, the importance of neuroscience is unquestionable in the realm of art and design. 


Works Cited

Cajal, Santiago Ramón y, Eric A. Newman, Alfonso Araque, Janet M. Dubinsky, Larry W. Swanson, Lyndel King, and Eric Himmel.The beautiful brain: the drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. New York, NY: Abrams, 2017. Print.

"Self Reflected – Greg Dunn Design."Greg Dunn Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017.


Images: 
Drawing of the neural circuitry of the rodent hoppocampus. Histologie du Système Nerveux de l'Homme et des Vertébrés, Vols. 1 and 2. A. Maloine. Paris. 1911 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/CajalHippocampus.jpeg


"The entire Self Reflected microetching under violet and white light"

"A sulcus of the parietal cortex"






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