Exploring Neuroscience Through Art

According to Wikipedia, International Coffee Day is celebrated in Australia, Canada, Scotland, England, Ethiopia, Hungary, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United States. Other countries around the world may celebrate Coffee Day on a different date.

Note that it's a day to not only enjoy the beverage, but also to appreciate where it comes from. Think about the coffee growers and the benefit of using/purchasing fair trade coffee.

Michelle Hunter

Exploring Neuroscience Through Art

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Thursday, September 25, 2014

#Brain article of interest: People Who Jump From Screen To Screen Have Less Gray Matter In One Brain Region, Study Finds

From Fast Company

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#Brain article of interest: The life of a brain, captured by Stanford scientists

From Scope Blog

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#Brain article of interest: I'm Jason Silva, Host of BrainGames, and This Is How I Work

From Lifehacker

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Why our faith in cramming is mistaken

From Mind Hacks

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#Brain article of interest: In a human brain, knowing a face and naming it are separate worries

From Scope Blog

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Friday, September 19, 2014

What's going on in there?! #brain #art #science www.hunterart.com #tgif #drawing #digitalart

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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Working on getting a #yinyang #brain #drawing going with my phone's stylus. #art #science #neuroscience #sciart

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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

NEW #Painting : The #Brain and Recoil Sounds

Hey you!

How do you react when you hear an unpleasant sound? For example:

Nails on a chalkboard
Child crying at a high pitch
Metal against glass
Brakes screeching

We usually recoil, maybe even cover our ears. The sounds are so sensitive to us that we physically try to protect ourselves. Well, allow me to introduce my latest brain painting "Cacophony. " The word cacophony means "a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds." Thanks to a good friend for the name suggestion!

The new painting has also been featured on the Scientific American blog!!
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/2014/09/12/cacophony-michelle-hunter


Cacophony 20" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas 2014 ©Michelle Hunter

** NOTE: No chalk was used in the making of this painting. It's all acrylic paint. Cool huh :)

There was an interesting study published in the Journal of Neuroscience conducted by Newcastle University scientists with funding from the Wellcome Trust. The study, "Features versus Feelings: Dissociable Representations of the Acoustic Features and Valence of Aversive Sounds," looked at the interaction between our amygdala (our emotion area of our brains) and our auditory cortex.

I came across this and other articles that referenced this study on recoil sounds published in The Journal of Neuroscience (http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/41/14184.short). It inspired the painting.

Pink is the amygdala and it plays a large part in our processing of emotions
Blue is the auditory cortex
Yellow is the area of the auditory cortex that handles gauging frequencies. Apparently, sound vibrations of 2,000 to 5,000 Hz are considered to be unpleasant

The article came up with a top 10 list of unpleasant sounds from their research. I included a few of them in the painting, like:
1. Knife on a bottle
2. Chalk on a blackboard
3. Nails on a blackboard
4. Female scream
5. Brakes on a cycle squealing
6. Baby crying

Are there other sounds (PG) that make you cringe?

As always feedback is welcome!! I would love to know your thoughts and recommendations on other brain topics of interest!

IN PROGRESS PHOTOS:

2014 ©Michelle Hunter

In the below photo, I took a picture of myself holding a pen (because I didn't have chalk) so I can use the photo as reference for painting my hand as you see it in the final painting.

2014 ©Michelle Hunter

Michelle Hunter

Exploring Neuroscience Through Art

www.hunterart.com

Hunter Art Blog [hunterart.blogspot.com]

Facebook Page [facebook.com/hunterart]

Twitter [@artcoholic]

Instagram [instagram.com/hunterart]

LinkedIn [linkedin.com/in/hunterart]

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Australian Goldfish Called George Undergoes Surgery To Save His Life

From Mashable

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Brain differences: Sometimes, adolescents just can't resist

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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Friday, September 12, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Woman's Lack of Cerebellum Goes Undiagnosed for 24 Years

From Mashable

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Another finger to phone #drawing of the #brain. Looking forward to getting a stylus, will make phone drawing much much easier. #art #sciart #digitalart

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Testing out a #drawing app with the #brain. More practice to be done when it comes to drawing on my phone. #art #sciart #science

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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Training your brain to prefer healthy foods

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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#Brain article of interest: How the brain finds what it's looking for

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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#Brain article of interest: Why Learning to Play an Instrument is Good for Your Brain

From Lifehacker

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Thursday, September 4, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Scientists Send Messages Directly From One Brain To Another

From Popular Science

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Monday, September 1, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Your Brain Likes Plain Old Paper More Than It Likes E-Readers

From Entrepreneur

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Saturday, August 30, 2014

#Brain article of interest: This Is Your Brain on Coffee

From Mashable

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Thursday, August 28, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Children with Autism Have Extra Synapses in Brain

From Neuroscience RSS Feeds - Neuroscience News Updates

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#Brain article of interest: Ask Anything: Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Brain Damage?

From Popular Science

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Area of brain responsible for exercise motivation discovered: Scientists have discovered an area of the brain that could control a person’s motivation to exercise and participate in other rewarding activities – potentially leading to improved treatments for depression

From Neuroscience News and Discussion

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#Brain article of interest: Train your heart to protect your mind

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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#Brain article of interest: Wii Balance Board induces changes in brains of people with multiple sclerosis

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Brain scanning the deceased

From Mind Hacks

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#Brain article of interest: Migraine and Stroke – What’s the Link?

From Brain Blogger

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#Brain article of interest: New research sheds light on how children’s brains memorize facts: As children shift from counting on their fingers to remembering math facts, the hippocampus and its functional circuits support the brain’s construction of adult-like ways of using memory

From Neuroscience News and Discussion

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Friday, August 15, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Brain 'switchboard' found, important in attention, sleep

From Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily

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Friday, August 8, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Exploring the conscious (and unconscious) brain in every day life

From Scope Blog

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#Brain article of interest: Lego Looks to Encourage Girls to Pursue Science With New Set

From Advertising & Branding

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Monday, August 4, 2014

#Brain article of interest: The Neuroscience Of Emoticons

From Co.Design

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Thursday, July 31, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Reward and Punishment in the Brain

From NeuroLogica Blog

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

#Brain article of interest: Headbanging: Doctors highlight potential dangers at hardcore rock 'n' roll acts

German doctors highlight the potential dangers surrounding headbanging in a Case Report published in The Lancet. Ariyan Pirayesh Islamian and colleagues from the Hannover Medical School, detail the case of a man who developed a chronic subdural haematoma (bleeding in the brain) after headbanging at a Motörhead concert.

In January 2013, a 50-year-old man came to the neurosurgical department of Hannover Medical School with a 2 week history of a constant worsening headache affecting the whole head. Although his medical history was unremarkable and he reported no previous head trauma, 4 weeks before he had been headbanging at a Motörhead concert.

A cranial CT confirmed the man had a chronic subdural haematoma on the right side of his brain. Surgeons removed the haematoma (blood clot) through a burr hole and used closed system subdural drainage for 6 days after surgery. His headache subsided and he was well on his last examination 2 months later.

Headbanging refers to the violent and rhythmic movement of the head synchronous with rock music, most commonly heavy metal. Motörhead, undoubtedly one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands on earth, helped to pioneer speed metal where fast tempo songs that have an underlying rhythm of 200bpm are aspired to.

Although generally considered harmless, headbanging-related injuries include carotid artery dissection, whiplash, mediastinal emphysema, and odontoid neck fracture. This is the first reported case showing evidence that headbanging can cause "chronic" subdural haematoma.

"Even though there are only a few documented cases of subdural haematomas, the incidence may be higher because the symptoms of this type of brain injury are often clinically silent or cause only mild headache that resolves spontaneously," explains lead author Dr Ariyan Pirayesh Islamian.

"This case serves as evidence in support of Motörhead's reputation as one of the most hardcore rock'n'roll acts on earth, if nothing else because of their music's contagious speed drive and the hazardous potential for headbanging fans to suffer brain injury."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by The Lancet . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

"

from Neuroscience News -- ScienceDaily [Read the full article here-> http://ift.tt/1ovkI5a]

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