Main description:

There is significant academic interest in the field of art and neurological disorders. Considering how artistic expression may be modified by alterations in neural circuits, as well as in our bodies and everyday lives, associated with a range of disorders and diseases is a rich territory from which to understand the workings of our brains, the unique blend of factors leading to human art making, and disease itself. This book will be an expose of how different neurological disorders may influence and/or relate to the artistic process, with a particular focus on visual art and painting. The book will interrogate the question of different aspects of neurological disorders and associated brain changes that may impact artistic expression (and vice versa) and will include devoted chapters on Parkinson's disease, Epilepsy, Mood Disorders, Autism, and Schizophrenia. Moreover, we will elaborate on the question from the perspective of the artist themselves, with chapters that highlight the artistic process in the context of lived experience (either directly or indirectly) with disease-mediated brain changes. Finally, engagement in creative acts has been linked to therapeutic benefits in multiple disease processes and neuroplasticity, which is another line of inquiry directly addressed in the book. As a whole, the volume focuses on themes and concepts at the boundary of creativity and neuroscience in such a way as to be relevant to both the medical and broader (artistic) community.

Contents:

Chapters

History of Neurological Disorders and creative expression

Suggested authors:

Andrew Bulloch, University of Calgary (bulloch@ucalgary.ca)

Frank Stahnisch, University of Calgary (fwstahni@ucalgary.ca)

Dopamine pathways, dopaminergic medications, and creativity

Suggested authors:

Matthew Pelowski, University of Vienna, (matthew.pelowski@univie.ac.at)

Parkinson's Disease

Suggested authors:

Anjan Chatterjee, UPenn (anjan@mail.med.upenn.edu)

Eugenie Lhommee, Grenoble (elhommee@chu-grenoble.fr)

Mood disorders (MDD, Anxiety, BPD)

Suggested authors:

Natalia Jaworska, Royal Ottawa Hospital (natalia.jaworska@theroyal.ca)

Georg Northoff, University of Ottawa (georg.northoff@theroyal.ca)

Schizophrenia

Suggested authors:

Christoph Redies, Jena Germany, (christoph.redies@med.uni-jena.de)

Alzheimers & Frontotemporal Dementia

Suggested authors:

Bruce Miller, UCSF, (Bruce.Miller@ucsf.edu)

William Seely, UCSF, (wseeley@memory.ucsf.edu)

Stroke

Suggested authors:

Julien Bogousslavsky, Clinic Valmont Switzerland (jbogousslavsky@cliniquevalmont.ch)

Migraine

Suggested authors:

Liam Durcan, McGill University, (liam.durcan@mcgill.ca)

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Suggested authors:

Michael Shevell, McGill University, (michael.shevell@mcgill.ca)

Epilepsy

Suggested authors:

Steven C. Shacter, Harvard University, (sschact@bidmc.harvard.edu)