Exploring Neuroscience Through Art: February 2013

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Your #Brain on #Love - Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you, whether you are attached or not.
If you have experienced love, or lust, you may think that it all comes from the heart, well not really - it comes from your head.

The below drawing shows most of the areas in our head that drive our initial attraction which in time leads to love. I was trying to figure out the best way to include in my drawing all the areas I came across in my research. Best I could think of at the moment was cutting a cross section of the brain out to see these love bug areas within.

Clockwise starting from the left:

The first red love bite, as I'll call it, is the Nucleus Accumbens. This is responsible for those feelings of attachment we develop with a loved one, be it a partner or a child or even a pet. This area receives dopamine feel good signals which I refer to later. Keep in mind that dopamine plays a role in addictions also.
The next love bite area on the top is the Caudate Nuclei. This area becomes more active further along in the relationship with one falls in love - when a relationship turns into a long-term one. Commitment to a partner comes from time spent and memories shared with that person. The Caudate Nuclei plays a part in learning and memory, the storing of those good feelings and events you share with a person.
The other love bite area shown in the drawing is that of the Insular (area shown on the right). This area is believed to be the trigger for our wide range of emotions including romantic and parental love.

Not shown is an area deeper in our brain that produces that feel good feeling of lust/desire. That is the Ventral Tegmental area which produces dopamine. I talk more about dopamine in my brain paintings on smoking (remember what I said above about addictions). When you and your partner are in that lovey-dovey phase in the relationship, this area of the brain is highly active.

May your brains be full of love today and always :) and remember the importance of loving yourself too!

Regards,

Michelle Hunter

Contemporary Artist
Tel: (646) 504-5034
www.hunterart.com
info@hunterart.com
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Contact me if you would like to purchase original paintings or drawings (info@hunterart.com / 646-504-5034)
The Brain Series of Paintings, so far: http://hunterart.blogspot.com/p/brain-paintings.html
Purchase prints to fit your space here: http://www.hunterart.imagekind.com
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

I'm Participating in Mondelez International Artist Showcase

Hi there,

For Black History Month, I'm am pleased to be able to showcase a couple of my paintings at Mondelez corporate offices in East Hanover, NJ. Not familiar with Mondelez? Well they are the (new) company behind your favorite snakes like Ritz and Oreos.

Five paintings of mine from the brain series will be included:
- Caffeine Headache
- Don't you remember?
- The Brain and Smoking part 1
- The Brain and Smoking part 2
- Yet to be Seen

Thank you to Milo at www.blackartistnews.com for the connection.

When speaking with the coordinator, she made a very good point. When people think of African American art, one may usually think of a more ethnic style of art. That though is only a small portion of the style of art African American artists create. Works span modern, contemporary, abstract and the list goes on. As such, we can't be found in one place. There isn't a registry, that I'm aware of, where artists can create a profile. Some artists may not even want to note their ethnicities on their website (I'm half black and middle eastern in case you were wondering).
We are out there though and happy to share our work with you :)

Regards,

Michelle Hunter

Saturday, February 2, 2013

It's Groundhog's Day! Don't get stuck in the past

Whenever I think about Groundhog's day, I don't think about the animal itself or the purpose of the day. I think about the Bill Murray movie where the day keeps repeating itself.

Do you feel that you are consciously or unconsciously stuck in the past? That was the inspiration for the first painting in my Brain Series called "Past, Present, Future or Dreaming".

The idea for this painting came from realizing, at a certain point in my life, that there were a couple of people around me that seemed to be stuck in the past. Like nothing that would happen in the present mattered. What happened in the present was only relevant in the context of the past. For someone on the outside of that thought process, it just didn't make sense. For those within it, it at some point became a natual way to think.

Personally, I think the past is only relevant when it has to do with present moment decision making. As an example, I'm at a restaurant and there's shell fish on the menu. Based on a prior experience with shell fish, I learned to stay away from it. Therefore, I make the decision to pick something else from the menu and continue being in the moment with whoever I'm having dinner with. Done. Period.

Instead for someone living in the past, they may see shell fish on the menu and go back into that experience of what happened the last time they had it. Perhaps they fell it, vomited, went to the hospital, etc. In doing that, the luxury of being in the moment is long gone. All that was really needed in that moment of seeing shell fish on the menu was recalling that you had a bad experience and will not order it. Done. Period.

If you feel that you are stuck in the past, feel free to share your experience here. I would recommend the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. Don't be surprised if you find yourself reading it a couple of times.

Regards,

Michelle Hunter