Using mobile brain/body imaging to advance research in arts, health, and related therapeutics.

The uses of mobile brain/body imaging (MoBI) are expanding and allow for more direct study of the neurophysiological signals associated with behavior in psychotherapeutic encounters. Neuroaesthetics is concerned with the cognitive and neural basis of art appreciation, and scientific correlations are being made in the field that might help to clarify theories claimed in the creative arts therapies. Yet, most neuroaesthetics studies are confined to the laboratory and do not propose a translation for research methods and clinical applications. The creative arts therapies have a long history of clinical success with various patient populations and will benefit from increased scientific explanation to support intervention strategies. Examining the brain dynamics and motor behaviors that are associated with the higher complex processes involved in artistic expression offers MoBI as a promising instrumentation to move forward in linking ideas from neuroaesthetics to the creative arts therapies. Tracking brain dynamics in association with behavioral change allows for more objective and quantitative physiological monitors to evaluate, and together with subjective patient reports provides insight into the psychological mechanisms of change in treatment. We outline a framework that shows how MoBI can be used to study the effectiveness of creative arts therapy interventions motivated by the 4E approach to cognition with a focus on visual art therapy. The article illuminates how a new partnership among the fields of art therapy, neuroscience, and neuroaesthetics might work together within the 4E/MoBI framework in efforts to advance transdisciplinary research for clinical health populations.

Summary of Twenty-First Century Great Conversations in Art, Neuroscience and Related Therapeutics.

Transdisciplinary collaboration is the future of knowledge making in advanced post-industrial societies and there is a growing awareness that the most vexing problems we face cannot be solved by any single discipline. Best practices for complex and challenging physical and mental disorders require a multi-disciplinary approach, yet there is a void in bridging the gap between the most contemporary models. It is in this capacity that the Twenty-First Century Great Conversations in Art, Neuroscience, and Related Therapeutics serves as a missing link. It was with active minds and a collective spirit that artists, scientists, therapists, physicians, engineers, technology experts, healthcare practitioners, and researchers from across the globe transcended historical silos to explore the capacities for collaborative partnerships to influence the health of patients and the amelioration of disease. Hosted at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), presenters shared insights through didactic sessions and panel discussions aligned with three tracks led by prominent experts in their respective fields: (1) Neuroaesthetics, Anjan Chatterjee, MD; (2) Creativity and Consciousness, Arne Dietrich, PhD; and (3) Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI), Klaus Gramann, PhD. The goals for this symposium were developed from a vision which embraces cross-disciplinary intersectionality, a merging of viewpoints, and active dialogue surrounding the development of a common language with which to advance the Creative Arts Therapies and neurosciences. The goal was also to contribute to the development of a simplified roadmap to enhance and enrich the CATs with a greater understanding of neuroscience and the available technologies that can assist in research.