The Art of Wellness
Forging new pathways to brain health by engaging in the creative art community Written by Cathy Carroll A musician lies inside a magnetic resonance imaging device with a keyboard and noise-cancelling headphones and plays a piece of music, then improvises, then composes. The imaging shows unexpected parts of the artist’s brain engaging. A cancer patient takes a doctor’s prescription to draw something—anything—every day. An ensemble performs authentic Japanese taiko drums and traditional dance as a way of combating violence against Asian Americans. Families at a birthing center see art depicting people who look like them, helping put them at ease and recover faster. Research and new technology continues to show the link between the arts and wellness, and Oregon health and civic organizations are embracing ways for it to make a difference in people’s lives. At Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, neuroscientist Lawrence Sherman began a series of popular…