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Illustrating cerebral function: the iconography of arrows
1The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
Summary
Arrows have long illustrated brain function, but their use is ambiguous. This review examines their evolution, applications, and limitations in neuroscience, suggesting newer symbols may replace them.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Scientific Illustration
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The arrow symbol has been a persistent element in depicting cerebral function for over a century.
- Its implications and consistent usage in scientific illustrations have remained largely unexamined.
Observation:
- Arrows are employed in diverse ways: to assign function to brain structures, visualize neural activity, correlate data with brain topography, and link brain functions to external concepts.
- The directional aspect of arrows is key, enabling the representation of time and functional, rather than solely structural, data.
Findings:
- The use of arrows in neuroscience illustrations is often ambiguous, lacking clarity on whether they represent fact, hypothesis, or mere decoration.
- The symbolic power of arrows can lend undue validity to speculative ideas.
- Illustrating complex brain mechanisms with arrows presents significant challenges.
Implications:
- The inherent ambiguities and limitations of arrows necessitate a re-evaluation of their use in scientific iconography.
- More abstract and non-representational symbols are emerging, particularly from computational neuroscience, to depict complex brain functions.
- Future research may see a shift away from directional symbols towards more nuanced representations in brain science visualization.