Narrating
Neuroscience
ON OCTOBER 20, SCIENCE and art
enthusiasts gathered at the Fields In-
stitute for a discussion on the role of
storytelling and art in communicating
complex and often abstract concepts in
neuroscience. The four speakers each
presented their perspective on neuro-
science communication, painting a di-
verse and multifaceted picture. Art can
help explain neuroscience concepts
and sometimes, neuroscience can even
dictate art.
Matteo Farinella, PhD, Presidential
Scholar in Society and Neuroscience
– Columbia University
Matteo Farinella had two passions in
his life, neuroscience research and
comics. He never once considered that
the two could be combined. That is, un-
til a post-doc named Hana Ros joined
his lab. She saw the potential, and what
started out as an inside joke between
the two of them soon became a beauti-
fully illustrated story called Neurocom-
ic. Supported by the Wellcome Trust,
Neurocomic is a graphic novel journey
through the human brain.
Farinella’s goal was not to try and
write a textbook in comic form – good
textbooks with beautiful illustrations
already exist. Rather, he wanted to fo-
cus on the narrative component. In his
story, the main character gets trapped
inside a brain and must learn about it to
find his way out.
Shelley Wall, AOCAD, MSc, PhD –
Assistant professor, Biomedical
Communications Graduate Program
and Department of Biology, UTM
Shelley Wall is a certified medical il-
lustrator with a PhD in literature and a
Masters in biomedical communication.
Maybe it was this combination of quali-
fications that drew her to comics about
medicine.
Similarly to Farinella, Wall’s work fo-
cusses on the narrative component, but
rather than purely educational, Wall is
interested in more of a memoir-style
comic where patients and caregivers
share their personal experiences. When
someone is diagnosed with a serious
neurodegenerative disease, they are
rarely interested in the mechanism or
history behind the condition; they want
to know what kind of treatment they can
get, how long they have, and what ef-
fect this will have on their family.
Alfonso Fasano, MD, PhD, Associ-
ate Professor – University of Toronto
Clinician Investigator – Krembil Re-
search Institute Movement Disorders
Centre – Toronto Western Hospital
Fasano’s presentation was unique, in
that it didn’t focus on using art to com-
municate neuroscience, but rather on
how neuroscience, more specifically
brain disorders, can affect art.
Fasano showed examples of artists
diagnosed with Parkinson’s and how
their art changed before and after di-
agnosis, and also after starting a medi-
cation regimen. He also explained that
patients on Parkinson’s medication can
sometimes develop a condition called
punding, where they are compelled to
perform a task, seemingly a form of art,
over and over again.
Tahani Baakdhah, MD, MSc, PhD
candidate – University of Toronto
Baakdhah’s presentation was different
not because of the topic, but because
of the medium. Baakdhah is the talent
behind Knit-A-Neuron Toronto, where
she teaches participants how to crochet
various types of brain and retinal cells
using homemade patterns. You may
have seen her colourful and cuddly cre-
ations on Instagram or Twitter.
Baakdhah, who is completing her PhD
in retinal stem cell biology at the Uni-
versity of Toronto, says she loves how
engaged people become at these types
of events.
— Malgosia Ip
13