Blessed with a great memory and
extensive knowledge, we all strive to succeed in this world. But what if the
memories and knowledge that define who you are suddenly gone, for instance
through an injury to the brain or brain disease. Such damage to the brain can
change who we are as a person and even make us sort of a “blank slate,” as
described by John Locke. Although there may not be a cure for such disease or
injuries, there have been instances where the patient has developed new
hobbies, such as an interest in art.
An example of this is Ms. Johnson,
an artist and illustrator, whose work has appeared in a range of publications,
even a physics textbook. She used to be a professional artist, used to play
violin, viola, piano, and guitar, and owned and flew some airplanes. However,
all talents disappeared when she was stricken by viral encephalitis, a
life-threatening illness that damaged pathways in her brain, especially the
hippocampus. Although Ms. Johnson survived the disease, her memory was severely
diminished. Unable to recall most of her life, she has to be retold many things
by her sister and mother, who have both assisted in her recovery. She forgot
how to walk, talk, write, and eat. She could not recognize purple, black, and
orange. This is similar to the two other variants of the Fronto-Temporal
Dementia (FTD) that affect language, as described by Dr. Bruce Miller. Patients
with variants of FTD are often unable to recognize simple things like eraser
and broccoli. When asked about it, they will inquire as to what it is. As
evident, both diseases caused damage to certain pathways in the brain and
affect memory (in the case of Ms. Johnson) and language (in the case of Dr.
Miller’s patients. This also shows how disease affect a discrete portion of the
brain, which impacts other pathways associated with it.
In his research about Dr. Adams, a
patient with FTD, Dr. Miller explains how damage to the damage to certain
pathways can allow creativity to emerge. Artists usually have right posterior
brain dominance, which is inhibited in the dominant frontal cortex. In FTD, damage to the frontal cortex allows
creativity to emerge. In the case of Dr. Adams, it has lead to an emergence of
artistic creativity. Stricken with FTD, Dr. Adams left her career as a scientist
for art. Her famous work is converting the Bolero (a music piece) into a clear
and structured painting, as evident in the picture. This shows how an artistic
ability, which was never present before the brain disease can rise due to
changes in some pathway.
Such a unique case is also seen in
Ms. Johnson. Although she has lost most of her memories, she has been able to
draw again (with help from her mother). Her art is quite different from when
she was diagnosed with viral encephalitis. However, she is unable to redrew
what she just finished or remember what she drew. This is due to the damage to
her hippocampus. What is interesting is that she is able to recognize her old
paintings when they are shown to her and her new paintings still signify her
personality. As described by Dr. Michael McCloskey, a professor and researcher
at John Hopkins, this ““raises interesting questions about identity: Here
you’ve lost an awful lot of what makes you who you are — what’s left for art?”
This mystery continues to interest researchers at John Hopkins University, who
have overseen Ms. Johnson’s case. Thus, in both research, researchers are
trying to further investigate why some brain diseases causes the rise of an artistic
ability while diminishing language and memory.
As evident in both researches,
there is still a lot left to learn about the brain. We are constantly taken by
surprise with some of the symptoms that arise with diseases. Hopefully one day,
with the constantly growing field of neuroscience, we will know more about this
disease and have a treatment/cure that will improve the quality of life of
patients and will allow them to pursue their passions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/health/20amnesia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/health/08brai.html
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