This week
Professor Vesna addressed neuroscience and art; specifically the importance
neuroscience has played throughout the development of society. Franz Joseph
Gall originated the concept of phrenology, which was an attempt to look at
individual intellect and personality through the examination of skull shape. Additionally,
Gall claimed that mental functions are localized in specific regions of the
brain and human behavior is dependent on these functions. Gall was disproved
with phrenology; however, he was correct in the analysis of neurons and ganglia
being the source of brain function. Another individual, Ramon y Cajal made
advancements in neuroscience as he is said to be the founder of neuro-anatomy.
He is known for neuron theory, where you can seek out connection patterns
between neurons by looking at their shapes. Cajal found that these neurons were
connected to one another, similar to a tree like structure, which led to more
extensive studies in the field of neuroscience. 
Neuroscience
also has an effect in the realm of dreams; where both the conscious and the
unconscious are realized. Two men, Freud and Carl Gustav Jung, took an in depth
look into this and were instrumental in the development of dream analysis.
Specifically looking at Jung, who believed that the unconscious could be a
source of creativity. Jung’s Collective Unconscious is important, as it relates
to archetypes constituting the structure of the unconscious, while also
representing the basic human behavior in situations.
Lastly, the
drug Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is a psychological drug known for its
affects in altering brain processing and select brain functions. LSD was seen
as a remedy for everything from schizophrenia to alcoholism. LSD had great
promise for analyzing psychotherapy and played importance in the literary works
of Aldous Huxley. Huxley’s Door’s of
Perception are a documentation of his experiences while trying LSD, where
the mind and its experiences are morphed into an illumination of shapes and
colors distinct to different sounds in his actual environment.
"Aldous Huxley - The Doors of
Perception." Tom Butler-Bowdon. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Carl Jung." Bio.com.
A&E Networks Television. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Franz Joseph Gall : Founder of
Phrenology." Franz Joseph Gall : Founder of Phrenology. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Phrenology: The Secrets In Your
Skull." Stranger Dimensions. 2014. Web. 13 May 2016.
Sample, Ian. "LSD's Impact on the
Brain Revealed in Groundbreaking Images." The Guardian. Guardian News and
Media, 2016. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Santiago Ramón Y Cajal -
Biographical." Santiago Ramón Y Cajal - Biographical. Web. 13 May 2016.
"Tapping the Triggers of the
Unconscious Mind." Direct Marketing News. 2014. Web. 13 May 2016.
"The Internet Course on
LSD." Bavatuesdays. 2014. Web. 13 May 2016.
You did a great job of explaining the concept of phrenology. I also enjoyed reading about Cajal's findings and how they relate to the exploration of the field of neuroscience. Dreams are something that I feel like still need to be explored so much. There is so much interpretation in the realm of dreams, and it is so interesting that it is thought to contain both the conscious and unconscious. Your images were all very relatable to your blurbs within your blog. I especially liked how trippy the LSD image is, which seems to represent the drug perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAfter each week I'm always surprised at how Professor Vesna introduces new fields that can relate to art. Neuroscience is just another one of those fields and I liked your post explaining your thoughts. I also liked your explanations of phrenology and neuron theory. I was really interested in the effect of dreams in an unconscious state. I've always been interested in how people say they can "lucid" dream and somehow connect the conscious and unconscious states. (Partially because I'm jealous that I can't).
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