Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Cart 0
  • Forgot password?Loading
    Not yet registered?
  • |Newsletters
Advanced Search
  • COVID
  • Health
  • Mind & Brain
  • Environment
  • Technology
  • Space & Physics
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Store
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Cart0
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
      • Share
      • Latest

      Visual Cortexes: Brain-Art Competition Shows Off Neuroscience's Aesthetic Side

      To highlight the artistic effort neuroscientists pour into their research images, a nonprofit group held a friendly competition. We review the top entries and winners

      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via Email
      • Print
      Visual Cortexes: Brain-Art Competition Shows Off Neuroscience's Aesthetic Side
      Slideshow (13) images
      View
      Credits: Simon Drouin/The Neuro Bureau

      Visual Cortexes: Brain-Art Competition Shows Off Neuroscience's Aesthetic Side

        • Share
      • MRT STUDIES: STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES Look once, and this image seems just like any other brain scan. Look again, and a familiar nut appears. The comedic entry by researcher Andrea Carolin Lörwald took the humorous brain-representation category... Andrea Carolin Lörwald/The Neuro Bureau
      • DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEXES VIA HIERARCHICAL EDGE BUNDLING This winning entry in the human "connectome," or brain connections, category is based on fMRI data gathered from the brains of more than 1,000 people. Major brain regions are depicted in the outer circle, and specific locations (for example, "Amygdala L" is the left amygdala) are listed in the inner circle... John McGonigle/The Neuro Bureau
      • FABRIC MRI: BILL'S BRAIN When neuroscience artist Marjorie Taylor acquired MRI imagery of her husband Bill Harbaugh's brain, she wove the scans into a 1.2-meter by 1.8-meter hooked rug with wool fabric. "You have got to see this thing in person... Marjorie Taylor /The Neuro Bureau
      • TEXTURED BRAIN The brain is a monotone mass of neurons that is often difficult to pick apart, even on a dissection table. Yet through a technique called diffusion MRI, which measures the spread of water molecules through neural tissue, researchers can add revealing color to the maze of connections... Alfred Anwander and Robin M. Heidemann/The Neuro Bureau
      • Advertisement
      • NEURAL ART Dandurand created a Web-based applet that generates random yet similarly colorful neural network plots like the one shown. Frederic Dandurand/The Neuro Bureau
      • A CRADLE FOR REST cAlthough not a winner, this Newton's cradle–inspired illustration by University of Western Ontario neuroscience PhD student R. Matthew Hutchison is one of Margulies's favorites. .. R. Matthew Hutchison/The Neuro Bureau
      • AMYGDALA ANATOMY IN AUTISM These spindly etchings depict the brain as if seen through the base of the head, with the forehead on the bottom. Almond-shaped amygdalae—regions that help the brain regulate emotion—are highlighted in yellow [ left ]... Isabel Dziobek and Michael Madore/The Neuro Bureau
      • REBRAIN The flat brain image at center looks simple enough. That is, however, precisely why its creator—neuroscientist Roberto Toro—won in the 3-D brain-rendering category. "This image completely maximizes the amount of cortex tissue you can see, but doesn’t distort it so you can't recognize the regions," Margulies says... Roberto Toro/The Neuro Bureau
      • Advertisement
      • MARILYN In true Warholian style, this work by neuroscientist Charlotte Rae serves to illustrate the rise of brain imaging in popular culture.   Charlotte Rae/The Neuro Bureau
      • SLICES OF LIFE On a vine-covered wall, MRI brain scans of happy minds and sad minds mingle. Artist Mireia Guitart collaborated with neuroscientist Simon Surguladze of King's College London to create the work, and she said it is meant to show how similar areas of the brain are activated in response to each emotion... Mireia Guitart/The Neuro Bureau
      • INSIDE-OUT Simon Drouin, a research assistant at McGill University in Montréal, created this illustration of an MRI brain slice digitally tattooed on his likeness. Simon Drouin/The Neuro Bureau
      • THE BRAIN TREE This hand-drawn illustration submitted by Norwegian artist Silje Soeviknes won the Brain-Art Competition's abstract category. "[I]n my language the brain stem is called the 'brain tree trunk' ( hjernestamme ) and the brain cortex is called the 'brain tree skin' ( hjernebark )," Soeviknes said of her work's symbolism... Silje Soeviknes, Erlend Hodneland and Judith Haász/The Neuro Bureau
      • Advertisement
      • LA MIE DE BRAIN Translated as "crumbs of the brain," this illustration of the cerebral cortex depicts the transition in early research of major regions to detailed modern analyses. Neuroscientists in the past century first mapped major brain regions (primary colors), but modern researchers are now studying connected structures at the cellular level... Erik Ziegler and the Cyclotron Art Committee/The Neuro Bureau
      • Previous
      • Next
      of
      • View all
      • Link copied!
      • MRT STUDIES: STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES
      • DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEXES VIA HIERARCHICAL EDGE BUNDLING
      • FABRIC MRI: BILL'S BRAIN
      • TEXTURED BRAIN
      • NEURAL ART
      • A CRADLE FOR REST
      • AMYGDALA ANATOMY IN AUTISM
      • REBRAIN
      • MARILYN
      • SLICES OF LIFE
      • INSIDE-OUT
      • THE BRAIN TREE
      • LA MIE DE BRAIN
      Advertisement
      Advertisement

      Newsletter

      Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

      Sign Up

      Support Science Journalism

      Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

      Subscribe Now!Support Science Journalism

      Follow us

      • instagram
      • soundcloud
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • facebook
      • rss

      Scientific american arabic

      العربية
      • Return & Refund Policy
      • About
      • Press Room
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
      • Site Map
      • Advertise
      • SA Custom Media
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • California Consumer Privacy Statement
      • Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
      • International Editions
      Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

      © 2023 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Scroll To Top

      Support science journalism.

      Scientific American paper issue and on tablet

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in.

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

      Create Account

      See Subscription Options

      Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

      You may cancel at any time.

      Sign in.