CEREBRART - START

The Brain is going to start ...

CEREBRART - Chaotic Brain

As nervous systems of the most ancestral animals evolved, and nerve cells began to cluster together in truly primitive brains, there was only rather limited chaos there. Over time, however, primitive brains grew increasingly complex. In higher animals, it is clear that ending up with trillions of nervous cells, cerebral chaos greatly expands.

Formally chaos is a nonlinear deterministic process that looks random. Some self-generated chaos is the gateway to creativity.  CEREBRART = ART of GENERATING and LIMITING chaos in the Brain. Contemporary technological breakthroughs offer a unique opportunity to better understand how the human brain generates and limits chaos. This CEREBRART work “Chaotic Brain” illustrates artistically the  subject of limited chaos, a topic which has not attracted much attention among either brain scientists (let alone artists).

CEREBRART - Planet Brain

Vladimir Vernadsky’s concept of nöosphere or the “sphere of wisdom” (НООСФЕРА - ЦАРСТВО РАЗУМА) is grounded in his research into the physical sciences and stages in the development of the planet: “. . . the whole of mankind put together represents an insignificant mass of the planet’s matter. Its strength is derived not from its matter, but from its brain. If man understands this, and does not use his brain and his work for self-destruction, an immense future is open before him in the geological history of the biosphere” (Vernadsky, 1945).

This CEREBRART work “Planet Brain” illustrates that idea as well as H.G. Wells's concept of "World Brain" artistically.

CEREBRART - INTEGRATION

Idea of this CEREBRART work was born suddenly at Third Biennial Conference on Resting State Brain Connectivity (during a vegetarian lunch) when I was absorbed in an interesting conversation with Professor Wei Chen from the University of Minnesota. We discussed various problems including how functional resting-state brain connectivity links to brain integration. We have mentioned connectomics - a field of neuroscience that provides a visual representation of  all neuronal connections between cerebral structures. But how to go further - to a mega scale description of the functional and structural integration of all cerebral structures and ecosystem elements?

That is the question, and my CEREBRART artwork illustrates this question.

CEREBRART - The Birth of Intentions

Motor actions are present before birth, we do not begin with ‘white paper’ at birth. Nevertheless, motor actions before birth are unintentional.  Intentions evolve in interaction with the evolving perceptual and cognitive systems during the early years of life. In other words, intentions are the product of the ways in which the child moves through the external world and interacts with external objects. Our life path is paved with our noble intentions. And our intentions, and therefore our actions are the product of deterministic processes, including processes of motivation.

Contemporary technological breakthroughs offer a unique opportunity to better understand how intentions emerge within the human brain. This CEREBRART work “The Birth of Intentions” illustrates that idea artistically.

CEREBRART - Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a disorder affecting the trigeminal nerve (the 5th cranial nerve), causing episodes of sudden, severe pain on one side of the face. Trigeminal Neuralgia has been described as among the most painful conditions known to mankind. Several theories exist to explain the possible mechanisms of Trigeminal Neuralgia. But the current theories and treatment options for Trigeminal Neuralgia are not satisfactory.

Recent data demonstrate that glial cells are involved in the development of neuropathic pain (e.g. Kimiko Kobayashi et al., Glia, Volume 60, Issue 10, pages 1529–1539, October 2012).

This CEREBRART work is an artistic interpretation of my own explanation of the possible mechanisms of Trigeminal Neuralgia.

CEREBRART - Neuronal Activism

Any brain cell’s activity is meaningful only with respect to what other brain cells are doing. The dynamic interplay between brain cells is the essence of brain function. Any brain activity relies on the stable propagation of action potentials from network to network.

Any motor action results from the integrated spatiotemporal coordinated activity of brain cell populations. Without coordinated activity amongst neural cells, the accomplishment of any motor task would not be possible.

This CEREBRART work illustrates “Neural Cells’ Manifestation” - an event, action that clearly embodies an abstract idea of “Neuronal Activism” - the coordinated activity of brain cell ensembles that are the source (and manifestation) of any human action.

CEREBRART - The Birth of Motivation

To what extent is human motivation fixed at birth and to what extent can it be modified by experience?  An important period of gradual axonal and dendritic growth and synapse refinement and elimination in the brain appears to occur mostly within the first decade of life, starting at birth. Because motivation is something that comes and goes, a failure of appropriate levels of social motivation, when deficient from birth, may derail a whole host of complex brain developmental processes. Therefore, I believe that the study of the ways in which sustainable motivation emerges developmentally can contribute to a broader and much deeper understanding of how the brain works.

I believe further that music is not only the foremost motivational resource but also offers a unique opportunity to better understand how motivation emerges within the human brain. This CEREBRART work “The Birth of Motivation” illustrates that idea artistically.

CEREBRART - Decision Making

Frontal and parietal brain areas are strongly interconnected and function together for many aspects of decision making and action selection. Especially, damage to the frontal lobe can cause decision-making impairments. Cerebral cells in the frontal cortex encode many variables that contribute to the valuation of a choice, such as its costs, benefits and probability of success. Therefore, when card players have to solve a problem, they activate frontal and parietal brain areas.

This CEREBRART work is a variation on a theme of “The Card Players” - a series of oil paintings by the French artist Paul Cézanne and illustrates a widespread network of brain regions, primarily in the frontal and parietal cortex implicated in Card-Playing.

This is Your Brain on Art

This is Your Brain on Art is an interactive panel discussion exploring neuroaesthetics: the study of your brain during an artistic experience, and specifically neurocinematics: the study of your brain on film.

The interactive conversation will feature guest cognitive neuroscientists and members of The Deconstructive Theatre Project's performance ensemble and creative team. The Deconstructive Theatre Project is a Brooklyn-based not-for-profit ensemble performance laboratory that exists to devise and premiere new multidisciplinary work. 

This is Your Brain on Art
dtpE - The Deconstructive Theatre Project EXPERIENCE, Event 2
Thursday, September 13, 2012 // 8:00 to 10:00 pm
195 Morgan Ave // $20 

CEREBRART - Memory Holes

In George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the “memory holes” are mechanisms for the disappearance of inconvenient memories.  

Alzheimer Disease accounts for many cases of the cerebral “memory holes”  and shows heritability of up to 80%. The increasing burden of Alzheimer Disease, caused by aging of the world’s population, has led many scientists and policy makers to suggest that AD will become one of the major causes of economic and health distress in the next few decades. Alzheimer Disease predominantly affects episodic memory causing impaired cerebral functions and eventually a loss of one’s identity. The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer Disease are extracellular plaques, intracellular tangles and neuronal death.

This CEREBRART work shows allegorically that as the cerebral cells die off, tiny “memory holes” appear in the brain.