Can art reveal brain function?

Yes, art can reveal brain function by demonstrating how the brain abstracts and reconstructs our perceptions of reality. As explained by Andrew Huberman, the brain creates abstractions of the external world, translating sensory inputs into electrical and chemical signals. These signals are then used to reconstruct images, which the brain interprets as reality. For instance, the visual system of the brain inverts and reverses images from the eyes, and yet we perceive them as right-side up.

Artists often leverage these brain functions to create pieces that play with these perceptions. An abstract artist might depict a person in a way that appears highly distorted yet still recognizable due to the artist capturing essential features that the brain interprets as familiar. This interaction shows how art can reflect and explore the ways our brains construct and interpret sensory information, thus exposing underlying brain processes involved in vision and perception 1.