The Science
Electroencephalography
[EEG] is a method used to measure the brain surface's macroscopic electrical activity translated from a multitude of scalp electrode recordings. These recordings indicate a neuronal population's activity. Medical diagnoses, such as seizure disorders or brain injury, are determined from pathognomonic patterns in EEG waves over time. No individual signal is enough for clinical significance on its own.
This painting presents a sample EEG of an adult person in a transitional sleep state, exemplified by the lower-frequency "theta rhythms" that emerge from the background activity - but with the recorded lines reflected through etchings into wet paint.
Reference:
Niedermeyer's Electroencephalography: Basic Principles, Clinical Applications, and Related Fields (7th Edition). Edited by Donald L. Schomer and Fernando H. Lopes de Silva Publisher: Oxford University Press, Pub. Date: Nov. 2017
The Artist
Adela Wu, MD is currently a neurosurgery resident at Stanford University as well as an artist and writer. She has published articles and editorial illustrations for multiple campus newspapers and blogs at Brown University, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford. Her work also appears in National Public Radio, ABC News, and Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine. Her artwork is created with mixed media and uses both traditional (pencil, paint, watercolor, etc.) and digital methods.
Twitter: @adelawu
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC BY-NC-SA license