Event 4: "Brainstorming: Synethesia Sessions"

Extra Credit Events

May 5th

Octopus “BrainStorming” Sessions 

Art Sci CNSI Gallery

2:00 to 3:00 pm 

This Friday I had the opportunity to attend a life changing event. It was incredibly interesting and left me with lots of hope to what projects scientists and artists are coming up with. I went to Professor Vesna’s “Octopus BrainStorming Sessions” and she was there to give us a brief lecture into what this project is all about. Basically, it all started five years ago when she met Dr. Mark Cohen, a neuroscientist at UCLA. Since then, they have been working together to create projects that resemble the relationship between art and science, and mostly by using technology. Something that really caught my attention was that Professor Vesna told us that when they were first discussing how they wanted to proceed with this project, Dr. Cohen said “I don’t think I can make this work in my lab, we are too consistent and strict with steps. For this project we are going to need a creative space that will allow our minds to wander.” This comment was extremely interesting to me because it emphasized how although science and art shouldn’t be seen as two separate fields, they do have different processes when dealing with hypotheses and research projects. While art is more about letting your mind be creative, science requires lots of data before going through the steps. Since Dr. Cohen and Professor Vesna weren’t really sure where this project would take them, they decided to work in an artistic space that would be relaxing and that would allow them to explore different things. 

Two participants trying to synchronize their different wavelengths

This idea of communicating through brain waves started a long time ago when Hans Berger’s— a German psychiatrist—wife had a dream about her brother dying. When she woke up, she was in a desperate mood and in a state of alertness. Then, she found out that while she was sleeping her brother had been involved in a tragic accident. This is when Berger’s curiosity started, how do people communicate through brain activity? 

Winters, Jeffrey. "Communicating by Brain Waves." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 01 May 2003. Web. 07 May 2017.

This “Brainstorming: Synesthesia” project aims to show how two complete strangers can so easily befriend at a rave simply because they’re both on the same wavelength in their brains. This creation is an “interactive event that uses brainwave-reading headwear to demonstrate the science behind the connection between two people when they’re entrenched in a mainstream of sound, lights, and color,” (Cohen).  It all happens in a room full of random people, there is a LED table in the middle, with two chairs, two microphones, and two octopus-looking headsets. Cohen and Vesna pick two random participants and connect electrodes to their brains. The other audience members also active participants because it is believed that other people’s brain activity can be very contagious. Once the two participants put on their octopus headsets, these would light up depending on each wavelength measure, although the colors were completely arbitrary. Also, music and lights would be produced in order to create an atmosphere that would incite the synchronization of brain activity. 

Octopus looking headsets created by Mark Cohen and Victoria Vesna

Professor Vesna explained that although to the audience members this whole process might actually look and sound like a disturbing mess, to the two participants it is actually very fun and relaxing. It is a very calming experience that involves humming, talking, and laughing. Eventually, once both participants reached an identical electrical brain activity, the two headsets would turn the same color. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean they are thinking or feeling the exact same thing/way, it only means that they are on a “consensual experience” that occurs on a subconscious level. 

Measurement of participants' wavelengths and the light and sound each is programmed to produce

Overall, I was extremely amazed by Cohen and Vesna’s research project. It showed me a perfect example of a collaboration between art and science that really has the potential to help humanity. I really liked how they first used art and then focused on getting data out of their creative works. This was a different approach than most scientific projects where scientists are required to have all the needed data before starting to explore. Also, I really agree with their thoughts on how people can communicate nonverbally through pure brain activity. The only thing that I am not sure about is whether Berger’s hypothesis (about his wife feeling her brother’s brain waves) is true, because it seems pretty hard to me to be able to prove that two people can communicate via brain activity regardless of being miles apart. All in all, I am fascinated by how Neuroscience is an important and great tool for the development of art. I am sure this project will be used for many different purposes, like medical therapeutic sessions, determining whether someone is in love with another person, comparing brain activity caused by certain illnesses, etc. I am excited to find out how far this project will go. 

Picture of me wearing the EEG Headset