Painting Dreams Shaped by Epilepsy and the Auras of Migraines
Vincent van Gogh, Lewis Carroll, Odilon Redon and Giorgio de Chirico were influential in the subsequent development of surrealistic art. Each is speculated to have suffered from temporolimbic epilepsy, migraines with an aura and/or both neurological conditions. The neurological mischief of temporolimbic epilepsy (TLE) and the aura of migraines can spawn dreams, spatial distortions, unusual line qualities, heightened emotions, greater attention to detail, altered perceptions and illusions. This can occur with TLE both during and in between seizures. These phenomena generate a neurological basis of novelty perception in the mind’s eye that can be projected in visual art. TLE and auras can lead a person’s mind to venture a few steps beyond common perceptions of reality and to diverge from making art that duplicates typical representations of what one physically sees. This type of a ‘dreamy state’ can liberate the mind in a manner that is useful in perceiving and expressing the surreal and the abstract in art. These neurological conditions alter brain functioning while an artist is conscious and capable of alternating between a double dialog of ‘dreams’ and ‘reality’ in a flow of creative expression. Temporolimbic epilepsy and the aura of migraines, in spite of all the negative consequences, can have a positive influence through the stimulation and enhancement of creative expression. Art also has the potential to be used as a diagnostic tool for epilepsy and migraines with an aura upon recognition of the signature traits and the most common patterns of similarity. This research offers visual representations, statistical analysis and theoretical hypothesis of what happens inside the minds of people with TLE and with auras as shown through art.
