An Artist’s “Motoric Perception” and Its Influence Upon the Formal Aspect of Her Art

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Notes

Recent studies by neuroscientists (14) seem to confirm Kris’ hypothesis of unknown sensory pathways used in perception. These scientists found a previously unknown system of neurons that can respond to another person’s action as if the action was their own. For example, seeing someone else grabbing a piece of fruit sets off the same neuron system as if one was actually taking the fruit one self. Instantly we can feel (and understand) internally what we saw externally. Because the individual feels like what he sees the scientists named this sensory system the mirror neurons. Similarly seeing another person in physical or emotional pain signals via the mirror neurons the same place in the brain that would be activated if the pain were the viewer’s own. Our patient, because of her inability to look at people in pain or remembering painful experiences, might have developed a compensatory heightened mirror-neurons system. (I want to thank Dr. Robert King for bringing this article to my attention.).

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Notes on contributors

Stanley Steinberg

Training and Supervising Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis