Image is drawn and owned by Stephanie Di Vito. Image description: A watercolour painting of a brain. The left side is filled with a geometric pattern with many different colours. The right side has pink and purple flowers with green stems and leaves.
By: Stephanie Di Vito
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Is art good for my brain?
I had always enjoyed making art and being creative, but I never thought it was my “thing” so to speak. When I went to university and graduate school, I got busy and art got pushed to the side. That is, until I signed up for a zoom paint night in 2021; after that, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe how much fun I had and how during the whole experience, I wasn’t really thinking or anxious about my research and my project. Later that week, I picked up some watercolours and a sketchbook and started my journey of creativity. As I continued to create, I couldn’t stop the neuroscience graduate student in me; I started wondering how art affects our mental well being and the brain.
I’m not the first person to think this. I knew that art had been therapeutic for me, but I didn’t know that art therapy is becoming an increasingly popular practice. To learn more, I spoke to Tayler Schenkeveld, a registered Canadian art therapist who blends traditional talk therapy with art therapy to support her clients. I had never heard of art therapy before, so I asked her a little bit about the history and use. For Western society, art therapy became popularized by veterans following World War II, but the idea that making art is therapeutic is older than that. Tayler is Métis, and she tells me that for her and many other Indigenous people; “Art and healing have always been synonymous. Sometimes you can talk yourself into a corner so I try to give people another option for expressing themselves”.
When discussing with Tayler about how she uses art therapy in her practice, she tells me it’s a very open and free space. “The key is to provide a variety of options. My directives are never ‘use this,’ use whatever you have and let’s explore how you’re feeling about what you’re making. Sometimes I ask people to make the worst picture they could think of. It is not about the product, it’s about the process”. This shows us that art therapy can be beneficial for everyone regardless of their perceived ability or comfort with creating art. Tayler says “I’m not here to judge your art and sometimes I just recommend people to just scribble for 10 seconds and see if that’s shifted any emotions.” The ability to freely create is the foundation for art therapy and a main focus of many studies testing the effects of art therapy in action.
Studies have shown that there are changes to the body and brain that occur when creating art. One study compared levels of cortisol, a hormone that can be measured to infer stress, before and after being given access to supplies and invited to make art. Almost all participants showed a decrease in cortisol levels, and these reductions didn’t correlate with the level of experience each participant had with making art. One way we can measure levels of activity in the brain is a procedure called electroencephalography (EEG). EEG is a non - invasive device that can be placed on the head of a participant while performing a task and is a popular way to gain insight into brain activity. One study using this method reported differences in the alpha frequency band for both artists and non - artists, while creating a drawing. The alpha rhythm is associated with relaxation, memory, visual processing and creativity.
Another way to study the functional connections between brain regions is by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This is different from a traditional MRI which images structures in the body. fMRI instead allows us to image changes in blood flow to infer activity. If an area of the brain needs more blood, it’s probably pretty active! Researchers enrolled participants into 10 weeks of visual art classes or cognitive art evaluation classes and took fMRI scans before and after the classes. They found increases in functional connectivity in participants who were creating art compared to those asked to evaluate it. Additionally, the participants who created art were found to have significant improvements in their scores for psychological resilience to stress. This shows that something is definitely changing in our brains after making art.
Scientific studies are helping us find answers to why art is therapeutic and how it can benefit many of us. Art has been produced in some form by humans throughout evolution. Many of us think of art as belonging in museums, or being sold for millions of dollars, while tending to forget about evidence of artistic expression found in caves from generations ago. In therapy and many studies, participants are allowed to explore and be creative without too much structure or rules. This may be the key to the therapeutic effect art has on our bodies and brains. That being said, more research is always needed to fully understand any short or long term changes that may happen in the brain that allows art therapy to be so restorative.
I asked Tayler about some of the benefits she’s seen in her patients. “Art therapy is so cool. It depends on the person but I’ve seen it be a self- confidence builder, it helps people better understand their own emotions and improve their connections with others. People are also happy to be learning a new skill that is supportive and therapeutic for them”. By allowing ourselves to slow down and be creative, we can reduce our stress levels and use art to help us better understand ourselves. We all might just need a little more art in our lives.
References
Belkofer, C. M., Van Hecke, A. V. & Konopka, L. M. Effects of Drawing on Alpha Activity: A Quantitative EEG Study With Implications for Art Therapy. Art Therapy 31, 61–68 (2014).
Bolwerk, A., Mack-Andrick, J., Lang, F. R., Dörfler, A. & Maihöfner, C. How art changes your brain: differential effects of visual art production and cognitive art evaluation on functional brain connectivity. PLoS One 9, e101035 (2014).
Kaimal, G., Ray, K. & Muniz, J. Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making. Art Ther (Alex) 33, 74–80 (2016).
Kaimal, G. & Arslanbek, A. Indigenous and Traditional Visual Artistic Practices: Implications for Art Therapy Clinical Practice and Research. Front. Psychol.11, 1320 (2020)