藝術是如何激活你的大腦的?

藝術是如何激活你的大腦的?

A lot of my free time is spent doodling. I'm a journalist on NPR's science desk by day. But all the time in between, I am an artist — specifically, a cartoonist.

我的很多空閑時間都用來涂鴉了。白天我是NPR科學臺的記者。但在這期間，我一直是個藝術家——確切地說，是個漫畫家。

I sketch at the coffee shop before work. And I like challenging myself to complete a zine — a little magazine — on my 20-minute bus commute.

我上班前在咖啡廳寫生。我喜歡挑戰(zhàn)自己，在20分鐘的公交車車程上完成一本小雜志。

I do these things partly because it's fun and entertaining. But I suspect there's something deeper going on. Because when I create, I feel like it clears my head. It helps me make sense of my emotions. And it somehow, it makes me feel calmer and more relaxed.

我做這些事情部分是因為它很有趣。但我懷疑還有更深層次的原因。因為當我創(chuàng)作時，我覺得它讓我頭腦清醒。它幫助我理解我的情緒。不知怎么的，它讓我感覺更平靜，更放松。

That made me wonder: What is going on in my brain when I draw? Why does it feel so nice? And how can I get other people — even if they don't consider themselves artists — on the creativity train?

這讓我思考:當我畫畫的時候，我的大腦里發(fā)生了什么?為什么感覺這么好?我怎樣才能讓其他人——即使他們并不認為自己是藝術家——走上創(chuàng)造這條路呢?

It turns out there's a lot happening in our minds and bodies when we make art.

事實證明，當我們創(chuàng)作藝術時，我們的思想和身體會發(fā)生很多變化。

"Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world," says Christianne Strang, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the former president of the American Art Therapy Association.

阿拉巴馬大學伯明翰分校神經(jīng)科學教授、美國藝術治療協(xié)會前會長克里斯蒂安·斯特朗說:“創(chuàng)造力本身對于保持健康、與自己保持聯(lián)系、與世界保持聯(lián)系很重要。”

It helps you imagine a more hopeful future

它幫助你想象一個更有希望的未來

Art's ability to flex our imaginations may be one of the reasons why we've been making art since we were cave-dwellers, says Kaimal. It might serve an evolutionary purpose. She has a theory that art-making helps us navigate problems that might arise in the future. She wrote about this in October in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association.

凱馬爾說，藝術激發(fā)我們想象力的能力可能是我們從穴居時代就開始創(chuàng)作藝術的原因之一。這可能是一種進化的目的。她的理論是，藝術創(chuàng)作可以幫助我們應對未來可能出現(xiàn)的問題。她在10月份的《美國藝術治療協(xié)會雜志》上發(fā)表了相關文章。

Her theory builds off of an idea developed in the last few years — that our brain is a predictive machine. The brain uses "information to make predictions about we might do next — and more importantly what we need to do next to survive and thrive," says Kaimal.

她的理論建立在過去幾年發(fā)展起來的一個想法之上——我們的大腦是一個預測機器。大腦利用“信息來預測我們下一步可能做什么——更重要的是，我們下一步需要做什么來生存和發(fā)展，”凱馬爾說。

When you make art, you're making a series of decisions — what kind of drawing utensil to use, what color, how to translate what you're seeing onto the paper. And ultimately, interpreting the images — figuring out what it means.

當你創(chuàng)作藝術的時候，你要做一系列的決定——用什么樣的畫具，用什么顏色，怎樣把你看到的東西轉化到紙上。最后，解釋這些圖像，弄清楚它的意思。

"So what our brain is doing every day, every moment, consciously and unconsciously, is trying to imagine what is going to come and preparing yourself to face that," she says.

她說:“所以我們的大腦每天每時每刻都在有意識或無意識地試圖想象將要發(fā)生什么，并讓自己做好準備去面對。”

It activates the reward center of our brain

它激活了我們大腦的獎勵中心

For a lot of people, making art can be nerve-wracking. What are you going to make? What kind of materials should you use? What if you can't execute it? What if it ... sucks?

對很多人來說，創(chuàng)作藝術是件傷腦筋的事。你打算做什么?你應該使用什么樣的材料?如果你不能執(zhí)行它怎么辦?如果弄糟糕了怎么辦?

Studies show that despite those fears, "engaging in any sort of visual expression results in the reward pathway in the brain being activated," says Kaimal. "Which means that you feel good and it's perceived as a pleasurable experience."

研究表明，盡管存在這些恐懼，“任何形式的視覺表達都會導致大腦中的獎賞通路被激活，”凱馬爾說。“這意味著你感覺很好，這是一種愉快的體驗。”

It lowers stress

它會降低壓力

Although the research in the field of art therapy is emerging, there's evidence that making art can lower stress and anxiety. In a 2016 paper in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Kaimal and a group of researchers measured cortisol levels of 39 healthy adults. Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress.

雖然藝術治療領域的研究正在興起，但有證據(jù)表明，創(chuàng)作藝術可以降低壓力和焦慮。在2016年發(fā)表于《美國藝術治療協(xié)會雜志》的一篇論文中，凱馬爾和一組研究人員測量了39名健康成年人的皮質醇水平。皮質醇是一種幫助身體應對壓力的激素。

They found that 45 minutes of creating art in a studio setting with an art therapist significant lowered cortisol levels.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在藝術治療師的工作室里進行45分鐘的藝術創(chuàng)作可以顯著降低皮質醇水平。

The paper also showed that there were no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don't. So that means that no matter your skill level, you'll be able to feel all the good things that come with making art.

這篇論文還表明，有經(jīng)驗的藝術家和沒有經(jīng)驗的藝術家在健康狀況上沒有區(qū)別。這就意味著不管你的技術水平如何，你都能感受到藝術創(chuàng)作的美好。