Week 7 Blogs: Brain Visualizations

The organ that we least understand is clearly the brain.  It is interesting to analyze how scientists and artists have attempted to describe and learn about how the brain functions through illustrations and visualizations.

One notable illustration of the mind’s function was that of Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828).  Gall was the founder of phrenology, the study of the relationships between a person’s character and the morphology of the skull (http://www.phrenology.org/intro.html).

Franz Joseph Gall (http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2004/Phrenology_files/gall6.jpg)

Gall believed that the brain is a collection of organs representing the characteristics of the person and these functions are located in specific part of the brain.  Many phrenologists later drew pictures of skulls diagramming the locations of human faculties.  Although phrenology has been largely discredited, some of its basic premises have been justified such as localization of functions in the brain. (http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2004/phrenology.htm)

Phrenological chart of faculties from 1883 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PhrenologyPix.jpg)

More recently, fMRI scans produce activation maps showing which parts of the brain are involved in a particular mental process (http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri).  In fact, fMRI scans have made their way into art.  Suzanne Anker’s exhibit, “The Butterfly in the Brain”, overlays fMRI scans with images of butterflies in a display of axial symmetry (http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2008/06/butterfly-in-brain.html)

An image from Anker’s “Butterfly in Brain” exhibit. (http://mappingthemarvellous.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/suzanne-anker-mri-butterfly-7-2008-digital-print-on-watercolour-paper-13-x-19.jpg?w=500)

We still know so little about the brain, perhaps the most important organ in our body.  However, visualization methods are rapidly improving.  For example, this past October, a paper was published on 3D visualization of the fetal brain (Oyama).  This gives me hope that we still may unlock the secret of the mind.

Works Cited

Devlin, Hannah. "What Is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)?" Psych Central.com. 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-functional-magnetic-resonance-imaging-fmri>.

"The History of Phrenology." Phrenology.org. 1 May 1998. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.phrenology.org/intro.html>.

The Neurocritic. "The Neurocritic." The Neurocritic. 8 June 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2008/06/butterfly-in-brain.html>.

Oyama, R., M. Jakab, A. Kikuchi, T. Sugiyama, R. Kikinis, and S. Pujol. "Towards Improved Ultrasound-based Analysis and 3D Visualization of the Fetal Brain Using the 3D Slicer." Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology42.5 (2013): 609-10. Print.

"Phrenology." Northern Illinois University. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2004/phrenology.htm>.