This book is the first attempt to provide a basis for the interactionof the brain and nervous system with painting, music andliterature. The introduction deals with the problems of creativity andwhich parts of the brain are involved. Then an overview of artpresents the multiple facets, such as anatomy, and the myths appearingin ancient descriptions of conditions such as polio and migraine. Theneurological basis of painters like Goya and van Gogh isanalysed. Other chapters in the section on art cover da Vinci''smechanics and the portrayal of epilepsy. The section on music concernsthe parts of the brain linked to perception and memory, as well aspeople who cannot appreciate music, and the effect of music onintelligence and learning (the Mozart effect). The section onliterature relates to Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Conan Doyle, JamesJoyce and the poetry of one of England''s most famous neurologists, Henry Head

This well-established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within neuroscience, as well as emerging and promising subfields. This volume explores the history and modern perspective on neurology and neuroscience. - This well-established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within neuroscience, as well as emerging and promising subfields - This volume explores the history and modern perspective on neurology and neuroscience

Fully updated, the second edition of Neuropsychology of Art offers a fascinating exploration of the brain regions and neuronal systems which support artistic creativity, talent and appreciation. This landmark book is the first to draw upon neurological, evolutionary, and cognitive perspectives, and to provide an extensive compilation of neurological case studies of professional painters, composers and musicians. The book presents evidence from the latest brain research, and develops a multidisciplinary approach, drawing upon theories of brain evolution, biology of art, art trends, archaeology, and anthropology. It considers the consequences of brain damage to the creation of art and the brain’s control of art. The author delves into a variety of neurological conditions in established artists, including unilateral stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and also evidence from savants with autism. Written by a leading neuropsychologist, Neuropsychology of Art will be of great interest to students and researchers in neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and neurology, and also to clinicians in art therapy.

The first of its kind, this book examines artistic representations of the brain after the rise of the contemporary neurosciences, examining the interplay of art and science and tackling some of the critical-cultural implications. Weaving an MRI pattern onto a family quilt. Scanning the brain of a philosopher contemplating her own death and hanging it in a museum. Is this art or science or something in-between? What does it mean? How might we respond? In this ground-breaking new book, David R. Gruber explores the seductive and influential position of the neurosciences amid a growing interest in affect and materiality as manifest in artistic representations of the human brain. Contributing to debates surrounding the value and/or purpose of interdisciplinary engagement happening in the neuro-humanities, Gruber emphasizes the need for critical-cultural analysis within the field. Engaging with New Materialism and Affect Theory, the book provides a current and concrete example of the on-going shift away from constructivist lenses, arguing that the influence of relatively new neuroscience methods (EEG, MRI and fMRI) on the visual arts has not yet been fully realised. In fact, the very idea of a brain as it is seen and encountered today—or "The Brain," as Gruber calls it—remains in need of critical, wild and rebellious re-imagination. Illuminating how artistic engagement with the brain is often sensual and suggestive even if rooted in objectivist impulses and tied to scientific realism, this book is ideal for scholars in Art, Media Studies, Sociology, and English departments, as well visual artists and anyone seriously engaging discourses of the brain.

This volume on neuroscience, neurology, and the fine arts brings several disciplines together. It presents current thoughts and modern examples about how science, medicine and the arts have interacted in the past and are still converging. This volume specifically explores the history and modern perspective on neurology and neuroscience.

As people of the modern era were singularly prone to nervous disorders, the nervous system became a model for describing political and social organization. This volume untangles the mutual dependencies of scientific neurology and the cultural attitudes of the period 1800-1950, exploring how and why modernity was a fundamentally nervous state.

This book analyzes and discusses in detail art therapy, a specific tool used to sustain health in affective developments, rehabilitation, motor skills and cognitive functions. Art therapy is based on the assumption that the process of making art (music, dance, painting) sparks emotions and enhances brain activity. Art therapy is used to encourage personal growth, facilitate particular brain areas or activity patterns, and improve neural connectivity. Treating neurological diseases using artistic strategies offers us a unique option for engaging brain structural networks that enhance the brain’s ability to form new connections. Based on brain plasticity, art therapy has the potential to increase our repertoire for treating neurological diseases. Neural substrates are the basis of complex emotions relative to art experiences, and involve a widespread activation of cognitive and motor systems. Accordingly, art therapy has the capacity to modulate behavior, cognition, attention and movement. In this context, art therapy can offer effective tools for improving general well-being, quality of life and motivation in connection with neurological diseases. The book discusses art therapy as a potential group of techniques for the treatment of neurological disturbances and approaches the relationship between humanistic disciplines and neurology from a holistic perspective, reflecting the growing interest in this interconnection.

The second edition of The Neurology of Consciousness is a comprehensive update of this ground-breaking work on human consciousness, the first book in this area to summarize the neuroanatomical and functional underpinnings of consciousness by emphasizing a lesional approach offered by the study of neurological patients. Since the publication of the first edition in 2009, new methodologies have made consciousness much more accessible scientifically, and, in particular, the study of disorders, disruptions, and disturbances of consciousness has added tremendously to our understanding of the biological basis of human consciousness. The publication of a new edition is both critical and timely for continued understanding of the field of consciousness. In this critical and timely update, revised and new contributions by internationally renowned researchers—edited by the leaders in the field of consciousness research—provide a unique and comprehensive focus on human consciousness. The new edition of The Neurobiology of Consciousness will continue to be an indispensable resource for researchers and students working on the cognitive neuroscience of consciousness and related disorders, as well as for neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists contemplating consciousness as one of the philosophical, ethical, sociological, political, and religious questions of our time. - New chapters on the neuroanatomical basis of consciousness and short-term memory, and expanded coverage of comas and neuroethics, including the ethics of brain death - The first comprehensive, authoritative collection to describe disorders of consciousness and how they are used to study and understand the neural correlates of conscious perception in humans. - Includes both revised and new chapters from the top international researchers in the field, including Christof Koch, Marcus Raichle, Nicholas Schiff, Joseph Fins, and Michael Gazzaniga

More on the relationship between brain disease and creativity Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists - Part 2' presents more writers, philosophers, musicians, painters and film directors who developed some form of neurological dysfunction and whose style and output changed following a stroke or other cerebral disorder. Mozart, Baudelaire, de Kooning, Proust, F ssli, Heine, Fellini, Visconti and others are all striking examples of how extraordinary creativity can be challenged and modified or destroyed and restored, all within the drama of a disease. When brain disease challenges the capabilities of artists, the changes that subsequently occur in their work provide a unique opportunity to explore the mysteries of creativity. This may also lead to a better understanding on how certain artists developed, particularly when the course of a disease corresponds with what is generally recognized as a new chapter in their work. This book offers a fascinating read for neurologists, psychiatrists, general physicians and anybody interested in art, literature, music and film.