Seminar-Script

My huge Seminar-Script on "Neuro-Esthetics" (2005/06)

>> download it here as a PDF (c. 65 MB)

Overview:

S1: Introduction (including some "Philosophy of science", i.e., Mapology I)
S2: Art historical methods, problems, and paradigm shifts (overview and prospect), definition of esthetic behaviours Introduction to Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology: nomenclature, neuron, brain stem, "limbic system", ICSS (Intra-Cranial Self-Stimulation)
S3: LCCS (Limited Capacity Control Systems), Learning, Cortex, Lateralization, Functional Specialization
Sensory Systems I: Somatomotor systems (Touch), Seeing I (from the Retina to V5, dorsal and ventral pathway)
S4: Sensory systems II: Seeing II (LOC, object recognition, the binding problem - and the Bayesian need to go beyond mechanistic models, gaze), Hearing (music), Vestibular system, Smell, Taste, Synesthesia
Neurobiological-analytic methods I: Statistics, Pavlov, EEG, DC-EEG, ERPs
Gestalt-theory, Cognitive Turn
S5: Neurobiological-analytic methods II: MEG, MRI, fMRI, PET, Optical Imaging, TMS, Hybrids (incl. SCR, EMG), Molecular Neurobiology, Neuroethology, Interaction Paradigm (BCI: Brain-Computer Interface) The Computational-synthetic Turn: Dynamical systems, networks, and simulations (Chaos, fractals, attractors, ...), Artificial Neural Networks, Potential landscapes, Neural maps (continuity, stability, and variation) Neurophilosophy, Mapology II: Will, Emotion, Feeling, Consciousness
S6: Developmental-evolutionary aspects: functional circles (circuits, linkings, interactions, networks, stimulations), "Neural Darwinism", "Social Psychology" (Social Synchronization, Empathy, mirror neurons, idola fori, ...) Critical Art Theory
S7: A model example: Presenting and discussing the paper by Changeux (1994) in the context of S1-S6 with the help of animated (dynamic) Figures