IS THIS MICHELANGELO’S HIDDEN MESSAGE?
Pretty much everyone is familiar with the ‘Creation of Adam’, even if they might not know that it is a section of a fresco painted by Michelangelo for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
Like the Mona Lisa, the picture is so commonly parodied and depicted on T-shirts and postcards as to have become a piece of kitsch. However, what almost everyo
ne has missed is the hidden message that Micheloangelo inserted: a human brain dissimulated in the figure of God.
Although the Creation of Adam was painted around 1511, it is not until 1990 that Frank Lynn Meshberger, a physician in Anderson, Indiana, publicly noted in the Journal of the American Medical Association that the figures and shapes that make up the figure of God also make up an anatomically accurate figure of the human brain. Take a close look at the picture above and you will see the Sylvian fissure that divides the frontal lobe from the parietal and temporal lobes: it is represented by a bunching up of the cape by one of the angels and by a fold in God’s tunic. The bottom-most angel that appears to support the weight of God is the brainstem, and his trailing scarf the vertebral artery. The foot of another angel is the pituitary gland, and his bent knee the optic chiasm where the optic nerves from the eyes partially cross over. The ingenuity and level of detail is simply staggering, and a lasting testament to Michelangelo’s extraordinary—and, for the time, very unusual—knowledge of human anatomy.
Some have gone so far as to argue that the point at which the finger of God and the finger of Adam touch represents the synaptic cleft across which neurons communicate by means of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. However, the concept of bioelectricity only dates from the 18th century, when Luigi Galvani demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the frog sciatic nerve leads to twitching of the leg muscles. And it is not until 1921 that Otto Loewi discovered the first neurotransmitter (acetylcholine, which he called ‘Vagusstoff’), and thereby earned himself a Nobel Prize. So Michelangelo’s ‘synaptic cleft’ is either an uncanny coincidence or a remarkable prophecy.
In Michelangelo’s picture, God has been superimposed on the phylogenetically ancient limbic system which is the emotional centre of the brain and arguably the anatomical counterpart of the human soul. God’s right arm extends through the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of human reason and deliberation and so of the imagination and creativity that marks us out from all other animals. Another very human emotion that is linked to creativity is melancholy (see my recent TED talk, Can Depression be Good for You?). Remarkably, Michelangelo has painted a forlorn looking angel in an area of the brain that is sometimes activated when a sad thought is experienced.
The Creation of Adam is traditionally thought of as illustrating the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam (‘Earth’), the first man. However, the hidden brain in the picture could radically change this interpretation of the painting. Michelangelo might simply be suggesting that our brain is a piece or extension of God.
ne has missed is the hidden message that Micheloangelo inserted: a human brain dissimulated in the figure of God.
Although the Creation of Adam was painted around 1511, it is not until 1990 that Frank Lynn Meshberger, a physician in Anderson, Indiana, publicly noted in the Journal of the American Medical Association that the figures and shapes that make up the figure of God also make up an anatomically accurate figure of the human brain. Take a close look at the picture above and you will see the Sylvian fissure that divides the frontal lobe from the parietal and temporal lobes: it is represented by a bunching up of the cape by one of the angels and by a fold in God’s tunic. The bottom-most angel that appears to support the weight of God is the brainstem, and his trailing scarf the vertebral artery. The foot of another angel is the pituitary gland, and his bent knee the optic chiasm where the optic nerves from the eyes partially cross over. The ingenuity and level of detail is simply staggering, and a lasting testament to Michelangelo’s extraordinary—and, for the time, very unusual—knowledge of human anatomy.
Some have gone so far as to argue that the point at which the finger of God and the finger of Adam touch represents the synaptic cleft across which neurons communicate by means of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. However, the concept of bioelectricity only dates from the 18th century, when Luigi Galvani demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the frog sciatic nerve leads to twitching of the leg muscles. And it is not until 1921 that Otto Loewi discovered the first neurotransmitter (acetylcholine, which he called ‘Vagusstoff’), and thereby earned himself a Nobel Prize. So Michelangelo’s ‘synaptic cleft’ is either an uncanny coincidence or a remarkable prophecy.
In Michelangelo’s picture, God has been superimposed on the phylogenetically ancient limbic system which is the emotional centre of the brain and arguably the anatomical counterpart of the human soul. God’s right arm extends through the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of human reason and deliberation and so of the imagination and creativity that marks us out from all other animals. Another very human emotion that is linked to creativity is melancholy (see my recent TED talk, Can Depression be Good for You?). Remarkably, Michelangelo has painted a forlorn looking angel in an area of the brain that is sometimes activated when a sad thought is experienced.
The Creation of Adam is traditionally thought of as illustrating the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam (‘Earth’), the first man. However, the hidden brain in the picture could radically change this interpretation of the painting. Michelangelo might simply be suggesting that our brain is a piece or extension of God.
TRADUÇÃO GOOGLE
É ESTA MENSAGEM ESCONDIDA de Michelangelo?
Quase todo mundo está familiarizado com a "Criação de Adão", mesmo se não pode saber que é uma seção de um afresco pintado por Michelangelo para o teto da Capela Sistina, no Vaticano. Como a Mona Lisa, a imagem é tão comumente parodiado e representado em t-shirt e como ter se tornado um pedaço de kitsch. No entanto, o que quase everyone perdeu é a mensagem oculta que Micheloangelo inserido: um cérebro humano dissimulado na figura de Deus.
Embora a criação de Adão foi pintado por volta de 1511, não é até 1990 que Frank Lynn Meshberger, um médico em Anderson, Indiana, observou publicamente no Jornal da Associação Médica Americana que as figuras e formas que compõem a figura de Deus também fazer-se uma figura anatomicamente precisos do cérebro humano. Dê uma olhada na foto acima e você vai ver a fissura Sylvian que divide o lobo frontal do parietal e lobo temporal: ele é representado por um ajuntar-se da capa de um dos anjos e por uma dobra na túnica de Deus. O anjo mais inferior que aparece para suportar o peso de Deus é o tronco cerebral, e seu lenço de fuga da artéria vertebral. O pé de um outro anjo é a glândula hipófise, e seu joelho dobrado o quiasma óptico, onde os nervos ópticos dos olhos parcialmente atravessar. A ingenuidade eo nível de detalhe é simplesmente surpreendente, e uma prova duradoura para extraordinária e, para a época, muito Michelangelo conhecimento incomum de anatomia humana.
Alguns foram tão longe a ponto de afirmar que o ponto em que o dedo de Deus e do dedo de Adão toque representa a fenda sináptica em neurônios, que se comunicam por meio de mensageiros químicos chamados neurotransmissores. No entanto, o conceito de bioeletricidade apenas remonta ao século 18, quando Luigi Galvani demonstrou que a estimulação elétrica do nervo ciático de rã leva a espasmos dos músculos da perna. E não é que até 1921 Otto Loewi descobriu o primeiro neurotransmissor (acetilcolina, que ele chamou de "Vagusstoff '), e, assim, ganhou-se um Prêmio Nobel. Então, de Michelangelo "fenda sináptica" ou é uma coincidência estranha ou uma profecia notável.
No quadro de Michelangelo, Deus tem sido sobreposto ao sistema filogeneticamente antiga límbico, que é o centro emocional do cérebro e, possivelmente, a contraparte anatômica da alma humana. Braço direito de Deus se estende através do córtex pré-frontal, que é a sede da razão humana e deliberação e, portanto, da imaginação e criatividade que caracteriza os de todos os outros animais. Outra emoção muito humana que está ligada a criatividade é a melancolia (ver minha palestra TED recente, pode Depressão ser bom para você?). Notavelmente, Michelangelo pintou um anjo olhando desamparado em uma área do cérebro que é ativada quando, por vezes, um pensamento triste é experiente.
A Criação de Adão é tradicionalmente pensada como ilustrando a narrativa bíblica da criação do Livro do Gênesis no qual Deus dá vida a Adão ("Terra"), o primeiro homem. No entanto, o cérebro escondido na imagem pode mudar radicalmente essa interpretação da pintura. Michelangelo pode ser simplesmente sugerindo que o nosso cérebro é uma peça ou extensão de Deus.
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