Survivors of traumatic injury are some of, if not, the bravest and most impressive people on the planet. The mental willpower required to continue fighting mixed with the mental agony of remembering how you were once able to function can only be an excruciating experience. I am introducing my writing in this manner because I was inspired this morning to completely change my topic. I was going to write a follow-up on a similar topic to my first post, but came across a Youtube video today that I could not help but cover. It follows a 17 year old artist, Clara, who found painting as an outlet for her emotions after having a stroke which left her unable to verbally communicate effectively. When asked, “What do you hope to communicate with people through your art”, she and her mother used a tablet to respond “love for everyone”. In the position she is in, carrying a mentality like this is both admirable and something I would not have the strength to do. Clara and her unbelievably positive outlook on her life inspired me to do further research about art, not only as a form of emotional expression, but as mental and physical therapy. Upon research, I found that painting gives the brain such an effective holistic stimulation, different areas of the brain are simultaneously activated, so as to improve mental health and physical motor skills at the same time. This proved to be especially effective in patients who had experienced strokes, like Clara.
First, I examined a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) which aimed to analyze the effectiveness of art in improving motor function. Researchers found that art has a robust effect on our brain, when performed and even when observed, as EEG imaging showed both motor and premotor networks firing throughout art observance and the act of painting. WHO failed to mention why premotor networks were firing, but I believe it is due to our mirror neurons. I researched mirror neurons earlier in the year, and they ready the brain when observing an action or emotion to perform the same action or emotion. The research paper mentioned that the highest activation was seen in emotional pieces or pieces in which humans were observed or painted, so an explanation along these lines makes sense. 3 scales used to measure a patient’s physical improvements are represented in Figure 1 (right). The most relevant of the three is the Barthel Index, measuring a patient’s ability to live and function independently. The data shows that art included with conventional therapy has a great effect when compared to conventional therapy alone. In the Barthel Index, this directly translates to more effectively getting up and down the stairs, grooming, and other tasks that if I could not perform, I would be much more enraged than Clara. It was also hypothesized that art was improving the neuroplasticity of recovering patients. Because typical strokes are unilateral, it leaves an imbalance in the brain. Painting has left (symbolic reasoning and language encoding) and right (emotion and spatial awareness) brain dominated components, which facilitates the potentially damaged interhemispheric communication. Another aspect of recovery not to be ignored is simply the joy art brings suffering patients. By activating the reward pathway, art acts like a safe and extremely non concentrated form of a drug. This dopamine surge is associated with increased motivation, pleasure, and reinforcement learning, counteracting depressive states commonly observed in post-stroke recovery, known as post-stroke emotional blunting. In addition, mental health is also improved through significant cortisol reduction through art’s calming effects. Given the association between high cortisol and mood dysregulation, this physiological shift supports emotional stabilization in individuals with post-traumatic stress or post-stroke affective disorders. All of these great benefits of art prove its efficacy as a treatment, and I was incredibly surprised to realize something so simple could have such a profound effect. I hope this treatment strategy is as publicized as possible, and may bring to all Clara’s positive attitude.
To try and understand what suffering through stroke recovery is like, I set up an experiment for myself, where I tried to replicate the conditions. I first drew a picture (5-10 minutes) with my right hand uninhibited, representing an artist (or regular person) before a stroke. Then, I tried to recreate the picture drawing with my left hand, on one foot and holding a counterweight to inhibit my balance, reflecting post stroke conditions, in a similar time frame. As you can see from my drawing, it was an incredible failure. Like I spoke to previously, my inability to draw correctly actually made me more mad, but the process of doing it and feeling myself improving was actually satisfying. That being said, I am incredibly grateful for my health, and my full range of motor skills. However, in the future I think art therapy should be seen as more than an afterthought.
Sources:
- Ward, N. S. (2017). Restoring brain function after stroke—bridging the gap between animals and humans. Nature Reviews Neurology
- Kongkasuwan R, Voraakhom K, Pisolayabutra P, Maneechai P, Boonin J, Kuptniratsaikul V. Creative art therapy to enhance rehabilitation for stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2015;30(10):1016-1023
- Boscolo Galazzo, Ilaria, et al. “Virtual Art Therapy: Application of Michelangelo Effect to Neurorehabilitation of Patients with Stroke.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 12, no. 7, 2023, p. 2590