Art
Neuro-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
This project began as a conversation between brothers Tyler and Daniel Wishard about blockchain technology and public-private ownership of medical data. Then, friend and colleague James Craig developed an R package for creating generative art using MRI data called Neurogen.
The terms non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency have become more commonplace in 21st-century vernacular. "Neuro-Fungible Tokens" explores the relationship between brain data and digital art. In essence, how MRI provides a lens for understanding internal brain states and appreciating the aesthetics of the brain’s structure from which these functions follow. The brain, a visceral object of study, is the medium the observer must use to understand themselves. In turn, the media is both the stimulus and the percept.
We use a 7-Tesla MRI (Ty's brain) as a conceptual framework to encourage person-focused management of medical records; generate a broader discussion about the ownership of digital data, the technologic currency of today's modern age; and promote interest in the brain.
Our incentive to list these as NFTs on the blockchain is to provide untapped resources for brain research, available at neurofungible.tez. We conceive a tripart network linking the public, artists, and scientists at the intersection of neuroscience and society.
An R package for creating generative art using Brain Imaging Data. The neurogen package was born from a collaboration with brothers Daniel and Tyler Wishard, UCLA for a proposal at the 2022 Organization of Human Brain Mapping in Glasgow, Scotland - which is titled "Neuro-Fungible Tokens". Proceeds from the sale of any NFT's will be donated to organizations conducting neurological disease research.
Tyler is a Ph.D. candidate in the Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Program at UCLA whose work focuses on multimodal MRI to determine neuroimaging-based markers of age-related memory decline and optimize non-invasive neuromodulation to improve older adults' cognitive outcomes.
All example image data provided in package used a 7-Tesla MRI of Tyler Wishard's brain, aka 'Ty's Brain' and can be found in inst/data.
Axis I. Connection with self: The artwork created for this year's conference will contain a series of digital pieces (NFTs) using a 7-Tesla MRI of my brain, guided by inspiration from Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the father of neuroanatomy, and his quote stating that "any [person] could, if [they] were so inclined, be the sculptor of [their] own brain." Here, I aim to explore how my experiences as a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA have influenced my conceptualization of neuroscience and career trajectory in STEM.
Axis II. Connection with others: The pieces I will exhibit will become "Neuro-Fungible Tokens" (NFTs) on a blockchain that can be sold and traded. Adapted from the popularized concept of non-fungible tokens, which are non-interchangeable units of data that have the potential to represent the intrinsic value of biomedical images as artwork digitally. These images will form neuro-centric art series for brain awareness in a contemporary and reflective manner. These created pieces will have dynamic and interactive components whereby the conference attendees can engage with the digital images of my brain. These features connect the observer with the brain of a neuroscientist and, by exchange, modifies the art form. By proxy, this represents how our social network and connection with others influence our brain's functional architecture.
Axis I. Connection with self
Axis II. Connection with others
