Neuroscience + Art, Week 7

Brainbow Hippocampus

The human brain is so incredibly complex and protected by such a thick skull that we are only recently in history able to discover the contents.  Early studies of phrenology proved to be inaccurate, but laid a very useful foundation for specialization within the brain.  Today, such projects as the "Brainbow" help to illuminate the different pathways within the brain in a colorful and fun fashion.  Ashley Yeager comments that this technique can be especially helpful when trying to locate proteins and nerve cells within the brain.

Occupational Therapy using virtual reality

I found the portion of this week's lecture on states of consciousness relating to perception to be most interesting.  When listening to the sample from Mark Cohen, I immediately related his work with altering vision to virtual reality with gaming.  Virtual reality was defined by NASA as "... the use of computer technology to create the effect of an interactive three-dimensional world in which the objects have a sense of spatial presence." In pop culture today, this technology is often associated with gaming.  However, as described by Erin Carson, virtual reality can have broad application beyond gaming reaching even into real estate and health care.

The Void demonstration puts players in the game

One exciting new theme park in Utah plans to utilize virtual reality on all of their attractions in order to tap into thrill-seekers' minds' from the source.  The park will be called "The Void," and will boast gigantic rooms according to Quinten Plummer that will allow ample room for participants to roam and explore the artificial world.  Stephanie Mlot adds that users will feel as if they "passed through both time and space."  Some expected attractions will include head mounted displays, motion tracking vests, and even robotic simulators to toss and tumble users around on a 360 degree axis.  This project excites me because I feel it gives a glimpse of the future in which experiences will be able to be dowloaded to a headset, and then explored to full detail from one's own home, rather than having to go out and explore the real, physical world (Similar to in the movie Wall-E).

Works Cited

Brainbow. Digital image. Center for Brain Science. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <cbs.fas.harvard.edu>. 

Carson, Erin. "Why Virtual Reality Could Finally Mend Its Broken Promise." TechRepublic. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-virtual-reality-could-finally-mend-its-broken-promise/>. 

Mlot, Stephanie. "Wander Around in Virtual Worlds at 'The Void'" PCMAG. N.p., 12 May 2015. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2484097,00.asp>. 

Plummer, Quinten. "Void Virtual Reality Theme Park: Welcome To The Matrix." Tech Times RSS. N.p., 12 May 2015. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.techtimes.com/articles/52282/20150512/void-virtual-reality-theme-park-welcome-to-the-matrix.htm>. 

Toyra Introduces Virtual Reality to Occupational Therapy. Digital image. Fitness Gaming. N.p., n.d. Web. <www.fitness-gaming.com>. 

"Virtual Reality: Definition and Requirements." Virtual Reality. NASA, n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Software/VWT/vr.html>. 

The Void: World’s First Virtual Reality Theme Park Coming Soon. Digital image. Web Urbanist. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2015. <weburbanist.com>. 

WALL-E. Dir. Andrew Stanton. By Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, and Jeff Garlin. Prod. Jim Morris. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2008. Youtube. 

Yeager, Ashley. "'Brainbow' Illuminates Cellular Connections." Science News. N.p., 4 May 2015. Web. 14 May 2015. <https://www.sciencenews.org/article/%E2%80%98brainbow%E2%80%99-illuminates-cellular-connections>.