hanna_wittmack_DESMA9_Blog_06

 THE MIND:

The human brain is split into arguably two generic differentiations, the conscious side, and the unconscious side. Both of which have numerous fields of study enamored with them


The conscious side of the mind has direct connections with neuron transmission, or the communication between the outside world and the body. As defined by the University of Queensland Australia, “Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles”¹ They are the very systems that allow us to have connections outside of ourselves, whether it be to other people, the environment, or other living organisms. Unseen from the outside they make up the very roots that ground us to this earth.

Scientists and artists for years have been contemplating the best way to represent neurons in a physical manner to illustrate how they work. Two of these representations really stood out to me. The first was Suzanne Anker’s FMRI butterfly (pictured below, Figure A), which made “seemingly unspecified and identical brain scans arranged in a grid. At the center of each frame is an image of a butterfly, on each of which Anker superimposes a different reproduction of a Rorschach-test-type inkblot”² The second was Brainbow (Figure B)“a genetic cell-labeling technique where hundreds of different hues can be generated by stochastic and combinatorial expression of a few spectrally distinct fluorescent proteins”³ Both of these artists have managed to make representations of the conscious mind by following patterns of firing neurons as well as brain function. 

Figure A: Bio Art: Suzanne Anker - Contemporary Visual Artist and Theorist ... http://suzanneanker.com/.

Figure B: Weissman, Tamily A, and Y Albert Pan. “Brainbow: New Resources and Emerging Biological Applications for Multicolor Genetic Labeling and Analysis.” Genetics, Genetics Society of America, Feb. 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4317644/.

But now we dive into the unconscious mind, the side that always has us dreaming of unrealistic expectations that we take into our everyday life. For this section we will talk about Neurochemicals, or what are also known as the chemicals of happiness⁴ At a certain time, hallucinogenic drugs were used in everyday substances and were considered cure all wonder drugs. Pictured below is an image of a coke bottle from 1886 that shows the original recipe for coca cola that included cocaine. At the time it was considered normal and even a good thing if products were to have drugs such as Cocaine and LSD in them, because they were thought to be beneficial. In fact, “cocaine is still charted with specific reference to its usefulness as a medicine and local anesthetic.”⁵ But the addictive side effects greatly outweigh its usefulness.

Citations:

1 “What Is a Neuron?” Queensland Brain Institute, 13 Aug. 2019, https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/what-neuron#:~:text=Neurons%20(also%20called%20neurones%20or,at%20every%20step%20in%20between. 

2 Bio Art: Suzanne Anker - Contemporary Visual Artist and Theorist ... http://suzanneanker.com/. 

3 Weissman, Tamily A, and Y Albert Pan. “Brainbow: New Resources and Emerging Biological Applications for Multicolor Genetic Labeling and Analysis.” Genetics, Genetics Society of America, Feb. 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4317644/. 

4 “The Neurochemicals of Happiness.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201211/the-neurochemicals-happiness. 

 

5 GA;, Brain PF;Coward. “A Review of the History, Actions, and Legitimate Uses of Cocaine.” Journal of Substance Abuse, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2485453/. 

Image Citations:

1 FMRI Butterfly, Suzanna Anker, 2009

2 BrainBow, Macmillan Publishers, 2012

3 Coca-Cola Label, USA Today, 2021