If you want to get a stunning look at the science inside our minds, it’s worth taking a look at the amazing ThoughtForms exhibit by Dr Kellyann Guerts and Dr Indae Hwang in the Science Gallery, at Melbourne Connect, Melbourne University.
ThoughtForms is an amazing blend of technology, science and self-reflection, where users are able to produce a snapshot of their own thoughts, with a mobile EEG (brainwave detector) and a 3D-printer. Inspired by some of her own lived, mental health experiences, Dr Guerts explores finding order in disorder and bridging the divide between the inaccessible thoughts and our physical world.
So, how does it work exactly?
The technology involved is incredible, not unlike something seen in a sci-fi movie. In the simplest of terms, it’s creating a visual, physical representation of what’s going on in our heads.
More specifically, to generate the shapes, she uses a mobile electroencephalogram, or EEG, to detect and map brain activity across different regions of the brain. These readings are input into a data visualization platform, transforming the data into abstract 3D shapes. These can be manipulated by the individual wearing the headset, along different axes associated with the various brain regions measured, and activated, depending on what the person is thinking.
If the parietal lobe is more activated, then the axis associated with parietal lobe activity would have a greater value. All you need is 3 regions, to get three axes, and boom, you have a 3D shape. Granted, the classification and extrapolation process are a little more complex than that but nevertheless, it is incredible.
To produce the “Thoughtform”, the 3D printed abstract shape, participants were asked to think of a thought and press “Print” when they felt ready.
But what does it all mean?
Now left at that, all the measuring produces is copious amounts of numbers and squiggly abstract shapes. But this is where the Circumplex Model of Affect comes into play. Developed in the late 90s, by American psychologists James Russell and Lisa Feldman Barret, it proposes that all affective states are the result of a combination between arousal, or activation, and valence, i.e., positive or negative. Affective states are longer lasting moods.
Using this model, and the participants’ own self-reflection on the category of their thoughts, commonalities between the shapes could be considered. Do happy thoughts have similar shapes? What might this say about the way the brain experiences happy thoughts? One thing they did notice was that focused, low-arousal thoughts were more spherical, smaller and compact. In contrast, high arousal thoughts were elongated, narrow and constantly moving. So, the data and model create something that gives us a bit of an insight into what’s going on
Where will this take us?
Unfortunately, at this stage, not particularly far. There is just too much of the brain, cognition and consciousness that we just don’t understand. But that doesn’t mean that there aren't extraordinary implications for this technology further down the track. That’s why we love science!
In her paper, published 2018, Dr Guerts describes the abstract shapes to be “like biological specimens awaiting classification, the random fragments depicting mental states arranged in this image in order to observe and interpret”.
From a clinical psychology perspective, there are potential implications too. Transformation imagery is an example of a technique used in therapy. Patients are encouraged to visualize their distressing feelings or thoughts. In doing so, they are able to regain control of their feelings, improve emotional regulation and processing. Using guided meditation in addition to a visual aid of this process could be very beneficial.
The Science Gallery on Swanston Street, Melbourne, is a branch of an initiative founded by Trinity College Dublin. Their mission is to create exhibitions that explore the intersection between art, technology and science, centered around a particular theme. Since their founding in 2008, they now have exhibitions in 8 cities around the world. Their exhibit MENTAL is open until Apr 23, 2022.
If you would like to learn more about the Science Gallery, you can visit them at the Melbourne Connect Building, 114 Grattan St, Parkville.
Website: https://melbourne.sciencegallery.com
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