Author: Gabi Caceres Gamundi

We visited the Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise May 31, 2018. Here, we got to see the grave of Oscar Wilde, one of the most influential authors/screenplay writers of all time. His grave was enormous and covered in glass for protection. Although not intentionally, Oscar Wilde did make some contributions to neuroscience. One of his most famous pieces, and my favorite, is the Picture of Dorian Grey, about a beautiful young man who sells his soul in order for his picture, not him, to age and record his sins. Because of this story and its fame, the phenomenon characterized by a man’s extreme pride and obsession in his attractiveness and fitness of his physique, along with difficulties accepting aging the Dorian Gray Syndrome (Brosig, 2001). It is because of influences like this that Oscar Wilde finds himself buried in this Cimetière.

References

Brosig, B., Kupfer, J., Niemeier, V., & Gieler, U. (2001). The” Dorian Gray Syndrome”: psychodynamic need for hair growth restorers and other” fountains of youth.”. International journal of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, 39(7), 279-283.

On June 1, 2018 we had the opportunity of visiting the Palace of Versailles. It was very beautiful and I got to learn a lot about France before the French Revolution. Something I did not know, however, was Louis IV’s love for dance. During the tour, the guide made us do a demonstration of how they danced in the same main hallway we stood in. Louis IV danced ballet his entire life, and as stated by the tour guide: to him ballet was more than an art, it kept his country together. This is important because dance, in general, has an enormous influence on the brain. Studies have found that dancer’s brains have stronger synchronization, stronger emotion and memory processes of self-understanding, better reflexes and more connections in their motor related brain regions (Poikonen, 2018). Without knowing it, Louis IV was influencing its country for the better.

Reference

Poikonen, H. (2018). Dance on Cortex-ERPs and Phase Synchrony in Dancers and Musicians during a Contemporary Dance Piece.

On my own time, I decided to go visit the Artistes and Robots exhibition at the Grand Palais. The exhibition showcased ways that robots are being engineered to create art using artificial intelligence. Not only was it wonderful to see how science and art can come together, but also I found it mesmerizing how these scientists are being able to create such a technology. In the picture above, you can see the creation of an artificial neuron that is able to grasp sensory information from its environment and learn from it. I took this selfie after the technology had perceived that I was right in front of it and created a representation of what he was “looking at.” This idea is a little scary, and it makes me think that those things we think of as science fiction today may not be so far from existing in the near future.

On June 6, 2018 we visited the Musée des Arts and Métiers, an industrial design museum. Here, I got to see the development of numerous technologies such as the camera, the microscope, and the telephone. During this exhibit I began to wonder about the evolution of communication and how far humans have gotten, we can even communicate with someone in the other side of the world! Through our use of language and our ability to create tools that help us survive and be a better species, we have been able to develop a technology that we cannot live without: the cell phone. This wireless device helps us be in touch with our family and friends, helps us locate ourselves in group situations and save a lot of time: you can just send a text. Indeed, communication has gone very far thanks to the human brain.

When meditating, during yoga, and when stressed people always recommend to “take a deep breath in…exhale out.” Similarly, when you smoke you are increasing the amount of air entering and leaving your body. Last Monday, we visited the Musée de Fumeur where we got to see the history of smoking and how even indigenous colonies hundreds of years ago used to practice it. This made me wonder why it is that humans enjoy taking smoke into their bodies, regardless of nicotine or any other addictive elements. There has to be some pleasurable experience in merely inhaling and exhaling smoke.

It is not a mystery that nicotine is the addictive component and the main reason why people smoke tobacco or electronic cigarettes. However, there are numerous smoking products such as MonQ, which contain no or nicotine/tobacco and is advertised as aromatherapy that people still consume. Indeed, there must be something else in the act of smoking that is attractive to humans. Rose et al. (2006) suggested that “non-nicotine effects”, which provide both sensory stimulation and other influences, may directly or indirectly reinforce smoking behavior. Other scientists stated that smoker perceptions of a “lighter” feel and taste of the smoke may also be an important factor (Rees et al. 2012). They also suggested that the “perception of the physical fullness of the smoke in the mouth” was a main contributor to the individual’s enjoyment of the act. Continue reading “Take a deep breath in…exhale out”