Art and neuroscience converge to explore disorders of the brain
PNAS January 25, 2023; 120 (5) e2221843120
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Figure: Art created by people with neurological disorders and diseases offers a window into the brain—and the art itself can sometimes be a means to grapple with neurological change. The works of artist Katherine Sherwood, who suffered a brain hemorrhage at the age of 44, are a case in point. Image credit: “Transports Instantaneously,” 2007 mixed media on canvas, Katherine Sherwood, Sixth Street Studios.
When illustrator Lonni Sue Johnson contracted viral encephalitis in late 2007, the infection attacked her hippocampus and almost killed her. Johnson had been a professional illustrator for 31 years, made many New Yorker covers, and painted pieces for the White House. With her hippocampus suddenly destroyed, Johnson couldn’t form new memories, let alone recall many old ones.
Yet, in published studies of her memory after the viral attack, researchers found that, despite profound amnesia, Johnson retained some of the artistic knowledge that she’d built up over a lifetime.
She and other artists have become, by virtue of their art and their illness, participants in cognitive studies that highlight how the brain changes as a result of disease. Other painters and illustrators suffering from neurological damage have turned to their own experience for artistic inspiration and even personal solace. Some artists have set out to communicate the impacts of their conditions through their art. Whether artist or researcher, all have looked to art as a window into the mysteries of the brain, its complexity, and its fragility.
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