Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

I was introduced to basic Neuroscience for the first time when I took 'Introduction to Psychobiology' at UCLA. It intrigued me to see how all our behaviors, thoughts and actions can be mapped to certain neurons 'firing' in our brains. I explored how all our different emotional states and our imaginative processes can be triggered with different medicinal drugs and how this would lead to a more creative influence in our work. It's a weird irony of sorts, as described by David Deutsch^[1] we use language to try to understand cognitive properties, even though language is a result of cognitive properties.

A map showing different functions mapped to a part of the human brain

Art has often been influenced by applied neuroscience. People have often taken to substances to channel their mental capacities into a more creative sense. LSD^[2], Marijuana, Mushrooms and other illicit substances have always been associated with artistic minds. Many famous personalities and scientists have used these substances such as Sigmund Freud who experimented with Cocaine^[3], and Steve Jobs who experimented with LSD^[3]. In the past, a lot of these substances were unregulated and hence artists could freely use them. However, with the advent of regulation, some artists continue to use these substances to enhance their creative capabilities. The morality of this practice is often questioned, but the art community even though it would not publicly endorse it, seems to be accepting of this practice.

A metaphorical depiction of using drugs to gain creativity.

As humans, we cannot really fathom what constitutes creativity or consciousness^[4] , so even though we can see the electrical impulses that occur while we are using these features, we still do not know why they occur. Therefore, using these substances to trigger these responses is a viable way of reproducing these mental states. But one thing is for sure, some truly wonderful pieces of art can be created when the appropriate scientific substances are used.

What Science + Art can really create

Resources

[1] Deutsch, David. "A New Way to Explain Explanation." Ted.com. July 2009. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation>

[2] "Girl Draws Self-portraits before and during LSD High (12 Photos)." TheCHIVE RSS. 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 May 2016. <http://thechive.com/2013/11/14/girl-draws-self-portraits-before-and-during-lsd-high-12-photos/>. 

[3] Scientist. "14 Famous Scientists and Inventors Who Experimented with Drugs." Famous Scientists. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.famousscientists.org/14-famous-scientists-inventors-who-experimented-with-drugs/>

[4] Penrose, Roger. "The Third Culture - Chapter 14." Edge.com. Web. 15 May 2016. <https://www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html>.

[5]  Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience Nat Rev Neurosci 10.11 (2009): 815-21. Web. 15 May 2016.