Drawing is an activity that engages both the brain and the body. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t think solely with the brain; the body and the brain are two inter-connected systems that compose the mind. In fact, the brain – via the nervous system – assimilates everything we experience on a bodily level.
Most people grow up with the belief that the brain and the body are two separate entities, and that the brain is the solo decision maker. We have all been exposed to images depicting the brain with captions such as “think;” these images are printed in magazines, posters and even schoolbooks.
As the neuroscientist Luis Lacerda pointed out, in one interview:
‘In the nervous system, we have the neurons that are part of the structure network. The neurons are the main source of transmission of information, but we also have other cells: microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, for example. These cells are more abundant than the neurons and they guarantee that the structure is well preserved. These cells are crucial to guarantee the proper functioning of the neurons. There is a whole process, since the activation of a stimulus that makes these cells change structure and adapt themselves to allow that this stimulus is transmitted. The stimulus is emitted from the neuron, and its speed is influenced by a layer of fat that surrounds them.’
In this context, everything that we experience with the body – for example, pain or fear – is assimilated by the brain, and therefore plays a role in the process of decision-making.
Over centuries, scientists and philosophers have been discussing to what extent and in what terms the body and the brain are interconnected. To start with, we can mention Rene Descartes (France, 1596) and the postulate ‘Cogito Ergo Sum,’ which is the origin of the dualism of the mind/body. Descartes believed that “thinking” was an activity that occurred in a specific area of the brain (pineal gland). In his opinion, thinking was a cerebral activity (immaterial, spiritual), in which the body was not involved (physical, mundane).
Descartes’ theorem has been questioned for decades in different contexts. Firstly, we can refer to Benedito de Espinosa – known as Spinoza – (Amsterdam, 1632), who argued that the body and the mind are part of the same entity, and not two distinct elements. (He argued that if this were not the case, it would be impossible for them to function in tandem with one another.) Furthermore, Espinosa was of opinion that emotions play an important role in this same process of decision-making, and that the mind is the simple processor of information transmitted by the body.
More recently the question of the involvement of the body in the process of decision making was finally solved, when, in 1994, the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio (Lisbon, 1944), published his book ‘Descartes’ Error’, in which he proves that emotions do indeed play a role in the process of decision making. Damasio conducted experiments with brain-damaged (frontal lobe damage) patients with impaired decision-making skills, who would score well in intelligence tests, but would not be able to take decisions or lead a normal life. Therefore, he concluded that there was a connection between emotion and reason impairment. Similarly to Spinoza, Damasio also believed that the mind only exists to tell the story of the body, to process its emotions. This concept of emotions being central to cognition represents a striking shift not only in biological studies, but also in philosophy and the arts. The idea that our emotions are originated in the body but create feelings in the brain (which then, in turn, are communicated to the body, producing stimuli) stands in opposition to what we have always been told. That is to say that we don’t cry because we feel sad, but we feel sad because we cry. Thus, we are slaves of the body. So, the emotion is what generates the feeling and not the opposite.
This contextualization is very important when it comes to the activity of drawing (the object of this blog), because drawing is one of the few activities in which embodied cognition is clearly visible. When we draw, our hand establishes a direct connection with the brain – anyone who has ever drawn something, knows this feeling of “opening” in the mind, as the activity unfolds. That is the reason why drawing is therapeutic and is used in social and medical practices.
In broad terms, everything experienced with our hand, will be integrated into the brain, just like what happens with other parts of our body. Nevertheless, one can argue that the case of the hand is singular: with our hands, we draw letters; touch people; imagine; experience; produce; think. In this sense, hands seem to be the body parts that are most immediately connected to the brain.
So, what is the concrete role that the hand plays in terms of cognition and the neurological development of an individual? That is one the main goals of my research, and something that will be further explored in this blog. Stay tuned:)
(1) Luis Lacerda (b 1983, Lisbon, neuroscientist), lives in London where he lives and works at the Children Health Centre.
Note: On Drawing has been supported using public funding by Arts Council and the British Council, and , by a-an (artist information company)
