A flashback, or involuntary recurrent memory, is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience. These experiences can be happy, sad, exciting, or any other emotion one can consider. The term is used particularly when the memory is recalled involuntarily, and/or when it is so intense that the person "relives" the experience, unable to fully recognize it as memory and not something that is happening in "real time" Flashbacks are the "personal experiences that pop into your awareness, without any conscious, premeditated attempt to search and retrieve this memory". These experiences occasionally have little to no relation to the situation at hand. Flashbacks to those suffering posttraumatic stress disorder can seriously disrupt everyday life.What is a flashback? A Viet Nam veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark Airport when a helicopter flew directly overhead. Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes, pulled his car to the side of the road, jumped out, and threw himself into a ditch. The unexpected sound of the helicopter had taken him back to Viet Nam and a time of being psychologically overwhelmed by incoming enemy fire. The flashback was intense. His experience was not of remembering an event, but of living the event. In an explicit flashback. the person is involuntarily transported back in time. To the person, it does not seem so. What they experience is being experienced as if it were happening in the present. An explicit flashback involves feelings and facts. Flashbacks from early childhood are different. They do not include factual information. Until about five years of age, factual - or explicit - memory is immature. But implicit memory, the memory of an emotional state, may go back to birth. When the memory of a strong emotional state is activated, the person is exposed to an involuntarily replay of what was felt at perhaps age one or two. Since facts are not replayed, the emotions seem to belong to what is going on in the present. Implicit flashbacks from early childhood can be powerful. They can overtake a person, and dominate his or her emotional state. Even so, the person may have no idea that what they are feeling is memory. How could they? If they cannot remember a past event that caused these feelings, the feelings naturally seem to belong to the present. When we have an implicit flashback, we mistakenly believe someone, or something, in the present is causing these feelings. Though something in the present triggered the feelings, the feelings do not fit the present situation. They are far more intense and far more persistent. Those two characteristics - intensity and persistence - are the clues we need to look for, clues that can tell us we are experiencing a flashback. Research at the University at Albany and the University of California Los Angeles has confirmed what therapists have long suspected, that PTSD can be caused by early childhood trauma in which emotions flashback but memory does not. In this research, very young rodents were exposed to one session of traumatic stress. Later, the animals were tested for both memory of the event and for fear response. Because the trauma took place early in their life, the rodents did not remember the environment in which the trauma took place. Yet, the rodents showed clear signs of PTSD: a persistent increase in anxiety when exposed to new situations, and drastic changes in levels of stress hormones. This research indicates that a trauma can cause a stress response even when no memory of the experience is present. It also suggests that therapists need to recognize that stress can be caused by unconscious processes - not just by thoughts. Commenting on the research, Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, said "There may be a mismatch between what people think and how they feel." Where does early trauma come from? Violence and abuse are obvious causes. But seemingly benign practices may also cause trauma. Neurological researcher Allan Schore says the practice of putting a young child in bed, closing the door, and letting them "cry it out" is severely traumatizing. Parents, and so-called experts, have claimed that since the child will not remember this being done, it will have no impact. Schore says research shows that though a child may appear to be peacefully asleep after "crying it out," the child may not be asleep at all, but rather is in a frozen state of "dissociated terror." An article on "crying it out" can be found at this Psychology Today link. Schore writes "the infant's psychobiological response to trauma is comprised of two separate response patterns, hyperarousal and dissociation." Initially, the infant responds with increased heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. The infant's distress is expressed in crying, and then screaming. "A second later-forming, longer-lasting traumatic reaction is seen in dissociation. . . . If early trauma is experienced as 'psychic catastrophe' dissociation represents . . . 'escape where there is no escape'. Certainly no mother wants to intentionally traumatize a child. Helpful information on how to calm a crying baby and get some sleep is ovvered by Sarah Ockwell-Smith

 

Clients I have worked with to alleviate fear of flying expressed concern about having overwhelming, unbearable feelings on a flight and being unable to escape. They are unable to specify a time when they had such feelings. Yet, such feelings are too much of a threat for them to fly. Taking a flight is an emotional risk. They fear they may have an overwhelming experience, and unable to leave the plane, have no way to escape the experience. Whether they understand it or not, they fear they will have an implicit flashback. Since escape is seen as the answer to emotional overwhelm, escape from the original traumatic experience must have not been impossible.

What can a person do about implicit flashbacks? Three things: 1. Recognize that when an emotion is too intense and too persistent to fit the current situation, you may be experiencing the flashback of an experience from early childhood. 2. Face-to-face with an attuned and empathic therapist, put the emotions into words. Doing so links the therapist's presence to the emotions in the flashback, and neutralizes them; 3. Tell the therapist in detail what triggered the flashback; by linking the therapist's presence to the triggers, the triggers are neutralized. Memory is divided into voluntary (conscious) and involuntary (unconscious) processes that function independently of each other. Theories and research on memory dates back to Hermann Ebbinghaus, who began studying nonsense syllables.[1] Ebbinghaus classified three distinct classes of memory: sensory, short term, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is made up of a brief storage of information within a specific medium (the line you see after waving a sparkler in your field of vision is created by sensory memory). Short term memory is made up of the information currently in use to complete the task at hand. Long term memory is composed of the systems used to store memory over long periods. It enables one to remember what happened two days ago at noon, or who called last night.

 

Miller (1962–1974) declared that studying such fragile things as involuntary memories should not be done. This appears to have been followed since very little research has been done on flashbacks in the cognitive psychology discipline. Flashbacks have been studied within a clinical discipline however, and they have been identified as symptoms for many disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder.Flashbacks are psychological phenomena during which a person relives a past event or fragments of a past experience. They generally occur involuntarily, abruptly entering an individual’s awareness without the aid of premeditation or conscious attempts to recall the memory, and they may be intense. As flashbacks involve past events, they may have no relevance to what is happening at present.

While people often associate flashbacks solely with visual information, other senses such as smell, taste, touch, and hearing may also be actively involved in the episode. Flashbacks can elicit a wide array of emotions. Some flashbacks are so intense, it may become difficult to distinguish memory from current life events. Conversely, some flashbacks may be devoid of visual and auditory memory and may lead a person to experience feelings of panic, helplessness, numbness, or entrapment. Many individuals report the onset of flashbacks after surviving a near-death experience or another traumatic situation. Those with posttraumatic stress may experience flashbacks as a recurring symptom of the condition. Posttraumatic stress may develop after exposure to military combat, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or potentially fatal events such as a car crash.

 

In addition to PTSD, other mental health conditions such as depression, acute stress, and obsessions and compulsions are associated with the development of flashbacks. The use of some drugs—such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)—may also increase the likelihood of a flashback occurring.

Flashbacks may have a profound impact on a person’s mental health. Due to the emotionally charged and uncontrollable nature of flashbacks, affected individuals may find their ability to carry out everyday activities is diminished. Loss of function may lead to a decrease in quality of life, which in turn may be a contributing factor for mood issues such as anxiety and depression. The psychological distress caused by flashbacks may be more immediate. Feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, confusion, and disorientation may often follow a flashback. An individual may become caught up in the flashback and scream, cry, show fear, or exhibit other behaviors that might lead to shame and embarrassment after the episode. These behaviors may damage self-esteem and create tension in interpersonal relationships. While the exact causes of flashbacks have not yet been identified, neuroscience and neuroimaging investigations have revealed information about how they occur. Neural scans of individuals experiencing flashbacks show that specific brain areas, such as the mid-occipital lobe, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and regions of the dorsal stream, are highly activated during the episode. Current research also suggests that factors such as stress, food deprivation, and temporal lobe seizures may play an important role in the onset of flashbacks. Some people may isolate themselves emotionally in order to survive the aftermath of a highly traumatic events. However these survivors may find that the previously isolated thoughts, emotions, and body sensations are still expressed in the present—sometimes many years after the conclusion of the crisis. At times, it may even seem as if intrusive memories and sensations come from nowhere.

By working with a qualified therapist, many people develop an increased ability to cope effectively with flashbacks. In addition to providing further education on flashbacks, a therapist can help a person in treatment gradually unearth and address the source of the trauma—ensuring that previously repressed thoughts, emotions, sensations, and actions are expressed in a safe, healthy environment.

 

Due to the elusive nature of involuntary recurrent memories, very little is known about the subjective experience of flashbacks. However, theorists agree that this phenomenon is in part due to the manner in which memories of specific events are initially encoded (or entered) into memory, the way in which the memory is organized, and also the way in which the individual later recalls the event. Overall, theories that attempt to explain the flashback phenomenon can be categorized into one of two viewpoints. The special mechanism view is clinically oriented in that it holds that involuntary memories are due to traumatic events, and the memories for these events can be attributed to a special memory mechanism. On the other hand, the basic mechanism view is more experimentally oriented in that it is based on memory research. This view holds that traumatic memories are bound by the same parameters as all other every-day memories. Both viewpoints agree that involuntary recurrent memories result from rare events that would not normally occur. These rare events elicit strong emotional reactions from the individual since it violates normal expectations. According to the special mechanisms view, the event would lead to fragmented voluntary encoding into memory (meaning that only certain isolated parts of the event would be encoded), thus making the conscious subsequent retrieval of the memory much more difficult. On the other hand, involuntary recurrent memories are likely to become more available, and these are more likely to be triggered by external cues. In contrast to this, the basic mechanism view holds that the traumatic event would lead to enhanced and cohesive encoding of the event in memory, and this would make both voluntary and involuntary memories more available for subsequent recall. What is currently an issue of controversy is the nature of the defining criteria that makes up an involuntary memory. Up until recently, researchers believed that involuntary memories were a result of traumatic incidents that the individual experienced at a specific time and place, but the temporal and spatial features of the event are lost during an involuntary recollection episode. In other words, people who suffer from flashbacks lose all sense of time and place, and they feel as if they are re-experiencing the event instead of just recalling a memory. This is consistent with the special mechanism viewpoint in that the involuntary (unintended) memory is based on a different memory mechanism than its voluntary (intended) counterpart. Furthermore, the initial emotions experienced at the time of encoding are also re-experienced during a flashback episode, and this can be especially distressing when the memory is of a traumatic event. It has also been demonstrated that the nature of the flashbacks experienced by an individual are static in that they retain an identical form upon each intrusion.[9] This occurs even when the individual has learned new information that directly contradicts the information retained in the intrusive memory.

 

Upon further investigation, it was found that involuntary memories are usually derived from either stimuli (i.e. anything that causes a change in behaviour) that indicated the onset of a traumatic event, or from stimuli that hold intense emotional significance to the individual simply because these stimuli were closely associated with the trauma in terms of timing. These stimuli then become warning signals that if encountered again, serve to trigger a flashback. This has been termed the warning signal hypothesis. For example, a man experiences a flashback upon seeing sun spots on his lawn. This happens because he associates the sun spots with the headlights of the vehicle that he collided with, causing a horrific car accident. According to Ehlers and Clark, traumatic memories are more apt to induce flashbacks simply because of faulty encoding in that the individual fails to take contextual information into account, as well as time and place information that would usually be associated with every-day memories. These individuals become more sensitized to stimuli that they associate with the traumatic event which then serve as triggers for a flashback (even though the context surrounding the stimulus may be unrelated; such as sun spots being unrelated to headlights). These triggers may have elicited an adaptive response during the time of the traumatic experience, but they soon become maladaptive if the person continues to respond in the same way in situations in which no danger may be present.

 

The special mechanism viewpoint would add to this further by suggesting that these triggers activate the fragmented memory of the trauma, but protective cognitive mechanisms function to inhibit the recall of the original memory of the traumatic event. Dual representation theory enhances this idea by suggesting two separate mechanisms that account for voluntary and involuntary memories; the first of which is called the verbally accessible memory system and the latter is referred to the situationally accessible memory system.

In contrast to this, theories belonging to the basic mechanism viewpoint hold that there are no separate mechanisms that account for voluntary and involuntary memories. The recall of memories for stressful events do not differ under involuntary and voluntary recall. Instead, it is the retrieval mechanism that is different for each type of recall. In involuntary recall, the external trigger creates an uncontrolled spreading of activation in memory, whereas in voluntary recall, this activation is strictly controlled and is goal-oriented.

 

The hippocampus is highlighted in red.

Several brain regions have been implicated in the neurological basis of flashbacks. The medial temporal lobes, the precuneus, the posterior cingulate gyrus and the prefrontal cortex are the most typically referenced with regards to involuntary memories. The medial temporal lobes are commonly associated with memory. More specifically, the lobes have been linked to episodic/declarative memory and thus damage to these areas of the brain result in disruptions to declarative memory system. The hippocampus, located within the medial temporal regions, has also been highly related to memory processes. There are numerous functions in the hippocampus; these functions also include aspects of memory consolidation.Brain imaging studies have shown flashbacks activate areas associated with memory retrieval. The precuneus, located in the superior parietal lobe and the posterior cingulate gyrus have also been implicated in memory retrieval. In addition, studies have shown activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex to be involved in memory retrieval. Thus, the medial temporal lobe, precuneus, superior parietal lobe and posterior cingulate gyrus have all been implicated in flashbacks in accordance to their roles on memory retrieval. Memory has typically been divided into sensory, short term, and long term processes.According to Rasmuseen & Berntsen, 2009, "long-term memory processes may form the core of spontaneous thought".Thus the memory process most related to flashbacks is long term memory. As well, studies by Rasmuseen & Berntsen, 2009, have shown that long term memory is also susceptible to extraneous factors such as recency effect, arousal and rehearsal as it pertains to accessibility. Compared to voluntary memories, involuntary memories show shorter retrieval times and little cognitive effort. Finally, involuntary memories arise due to automatic processing, which does not rely on higher-order cognitive monitoring, or executive control processing. Voluntary memory is normally associated with contextual information, which is what allows for correspondence between time and place, this is not true of flashbacks. According to Brewin, Lanius et, al, 2009, flashbacks, are disconnected from contextual information, and as a result are disconnected from time and place. To date, the specific causes of flashbacks have not yet been confirmed. Several studies have proposed various potential factors. Gunasekaran et al., 2009, indicate there may be a link between food deprivation and stress on the occurrence of flashbacks. Neurologists suggest temporal lobe seizures may also have some relation. On the reverse side, several ideas have been discounted in terms of their causing flashbacks. Tym et al., 2009, suggest this list includes medication or other substances, Charles Bonnet syndrome, delayed palinopsia, hallucinations, dissociative phenomena, and depersonalization syndrome. A study of the persistence of traumatic memories in World War II prisoners of war investigates through the administration of surveys the extent and severity of flashbacks that occur in prisoners of war. This study concluded that the persistence of severely traumatic autobiographical memories can last upwards of 65 years. Until recently, the study of flashbacks has been limited to participants who already experience flashbacks, such as those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, restricting researchers to observational/exploratory rather than experimental studies. Neuroimaging techniques have been applied to the investigation of flashbacks. Using these techniques, researchers attempt to discover the structural and functional differences in the anatomy of the brain in individuals who suffer from flashbacks compared to those who do not. Neuroimaging involves a cluster of techniques, including computerized tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (including functional), as well as magnetoencephalography. Neuroimaging studies investigating flashbacks are based on current psychological theories that are used as the foundation for the research, and one such theory that is consistently investigated is the difference between explicit and implicit memory. This distinction dictates the manner in which memories are later recalled, namely either consciously (voluntarily) or unconsciously (involuntarily). These methods have largely relied on subtractive reasoning in which the participant voluntarily recalls a memory and then the memory is again recalled, but this time through involuntary means. Involuntary memories (or flashbacks) are elicited in the participant by reading an emotionally charged script to them that is designed to trigger a flashback in individuals who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The investigators record the regions of the brain that are active during each of these conditions, and then subtract the activity. Whatever is left is assumed to underpin the neurological differences between the conditions. Imaging studies looking at patients with post-traumatic stress disorder as they undergo flashback experiences have identified elevated activation in regions of the dorsal stream including the mid-occipital lobe, primary motor cortex and supplementary motor area. The dorsal stream is involved in sensory processing and therefore these activations might underlie the vivid visual experiences associated with flashbacks. The study also found reduced activation in regions such as the inferior temporal cortex and parahippocampus which are involved in processing allocentric relations. These deactivations might contribute to feelings of dissociation from reality during flashback experiences. Flashbacks are often associated with mental illness as they are a symptom and a feature in diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Flashbacks have also been observed in people suffering from manic depression, depression, homesickness, near-death experiences, epileptic seizures, and drug abuse.[19] Some researchers have suggested that the use of some drugs can cause a person to experience flashbacks;users of lysergic acid diethylamide sometimes report "acid flashbacks". While other studies show that the use of drugs, specifically cannabis, can help reduce the occurrence of flashbacks in people with PTSD.

 

The psychological phenomenon has frequently been portrayed in film and television. Some of the most accurate media portrayals of flashbacks have been those related to wartime, and the association of flashbacks to post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the traumas and stresses of war. One of the earliest screen portrayals of this is in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce. A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. In the opposite direction, a flashforward (or prolepsis) reveals events that will occur in the future. Both flashback and flashforward are used to cohere a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative. In literature, internal analepsis is a flashback to an earlier point in the narrative; external analepsis is a flashback to a time before the narrative started. In movies and television, several camera techniques and special effects have evolved to alert the viewer that the action shown is a flashback or flashforward; for example, the edges of the picture may be deliberately blurred, photography may be jarring or choppy, or unusual coloration or sepia tone, or monochrome when most of the story is in full color, may be used.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(narrative)

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(psychology)

Carte de visite by Carl Caspar Giers of Nashville, Tenn. This portrait of two U.S. Army assistant surgeons in Union-occupied Nashville opens a window into the emerging field of neurology—the study of nervous disorders we know today as post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

 

Both recent college graduates, their shared history traces back to medical school in Philadelphia, the same date of promotion in U.S. Army, and their assignment to military hospitals in Nashville, where they were exposed to difficult cases of battlefield wounds and disease.

 

For the taller officer standing on the left, Washington Benson Trull, his deployment marked the beginning of a military journey that went beyond the Civil War in America. Known as Ben to his friends, Trull was born in 1839 into a Massachusetts family that arrived in America during colonial times. His great-grandfather, the celebrated Capt. John Trull, led a company of Tewksbury minutemen against the British at Lexington and Concord in 1775.

 

Ben’s ancestors gravitated to higher education and the sciences, and he followed in their footsteps. He attended college preparatory school in Newton Centre, Mass., and, in 1857, entered Brown University. There he excelled in the chess club and as president of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Upon his graduation in 1861—the year the Civil War began—he joined Boston’s First Corps of Cadets for duty guarding the state house and arsenal.

 

Before the end of the year, Ben took a leave of absence from the Corps and embarked on the study of medicine at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and finished his coursework at the University of Pennsylvania. During this period, he volunteered as a medical cadet at the U.S. Army General Hospital in West Philadelphia, and this allowed him to graduate early, earning his degree in 1863.

 

The intersection of his medical training and the need for surgeons to deal with the massive numbers of sick and injured opened up the next chapter in his life. Ben joined the ranks of acting assistant surgeons in the U.S. Army in Nashville, and passed the examining board to earn a commission as assistant surgeon on July 6, 1863, just a few weeks shy of his twenty-fourth birthday. He spent the rest of the war tending to soldier-patients in Nashville and Vicksburg.

 

Several of Ben’s cases, all fatal head injuries, are documented in the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion.

 

Another case documented by Ben appears in a postwar letter published in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Titled “Euthanasia in War,” the case involves an unnamed soldier who suffered a gunshot or shell fragment wound that destroyed his eyes and nose, obliterating a significant part of his face and head. Ben’s report raises questions about medical ethics and the possibility that the body’s immune system could be triggered by emotion and feeling to turn against itself.

 

Ben began by noting a study of Peyer’s glands, or Peyer’s patches, which are located in the small intestine and are part of the immune system’s defense against antigens in the gut. He also references an order about post-mortem exams.

 

Here’s Ben’s full report:

 

In the summer of 1864, we were making instructive studies of Peyer’s glands, with the hope of giving more successful treatment to the many cases of chronic diarrhea in the Cumberland U.S.A. General Hospital at Nashville. A senseless alarm was sent to the War Department about the “cutting up” of deceased comrades and the receipt of an order that forbade post mortem examinations. I was, therefore, unable, in the following case, to ascertain the deeper lesions, the condition of the optic commissure, etc.

 

The patient came to us with about 700 other acute cases of gunshot injuries, on the night of the first day’s fight at Nashville in December, 1864. Some of the men were brought in ambulances, but more in hay wagons without springs, a mile from the field, over frozen roads, deeply rutted by the wheels of batteries and supply trains of previous days. As acting executive officer, I was called to examine a man in one of the wards, who was persistently clamoring for euthanasia.

 

When I reached him, sitting on a stool in the midst of a crowd, he asked me to stoop down, look at him and then listen to his request. I found that considerable parts of both optic cones had been shot away, including the arch of the nasal bones. There was now no arterial hemorrhage, no complaint of pain beyond a sense of soreness, no special constitutional disturbance. Pulse was notably small.

 

Deformity of face was extraordinary. One eye ball had been carried off in the progress of the missile; the other rested on the cheek (half way down the face) held by its optic nerve.

 

He began at once to argue his claim, in a slow, deliberate and low voice. He exhibited no hysterical haste to die, though it was evident that for him life and not death was “the king of terrors.” He steadily maintained that life would be insupportable should he get about again. I listened as carefully as possible in the confusion of cries for attention of forty or more on the floor and the beds of the ward; doctors and nurses were embarrassed by their urgency.

 

Не was quiet. The clear working of the mind, the normal sequence of thought surprised me, looking down upon such ruin of structures in the very neighborhood of the anterior cerebral lobes. He politely paused for an answer. I cannot state verbatim what I said, but the gist of it was that none of us could previse the course of his case, nor be justified in hastening the approach of death by medical or surgical procedure.

 

He died that night in coma.

 

The pith of all this is in two points: First, the gravity of the injury so close to the supposed region of cerebration, the anterior lobes, without disturbing mentality. Second, the cause of death. The word coma explains nothing: was it the over-topping hopelessness, an object repulsive to look at and even more so, to think of: the state of mind, producing excessive secretion in certain glands, thrown into the circulation as a toxin paralyzing innervation?

 

There questions tucked into Ben’s narrative: Did patient’s state of mind produce a lethal toxin that killed him? Did he commit a form of suicide? Did he euthanize himself? Ben seemed to have no question on ethics: As a trained physician familiar with the Hippocratic Oath, he interpreted his role to do good for the patient and not cause harm. It is easy to imagine that he did not expect the man to live, which made I easier for him to deny the man’s request to be euthanized.

 

Ben remained in Nashville until the war’s end. He returned to Massachusetts and melted back into civilian life as a surgeon in practice with a cousin. His peers elected him to various state boards.

 

Ben might have remained in Boston for the rest of his days. However, he had one military assignment to fulfill. In 1870, at the outset of the Franco-Prussian War, the German Army needed surgeons. A number of German-born American physicians volunteered, and Ben joined them. He arrived in the village of Pont-à-Mousson and attended to French prisoners of war, many of whom had served in the Army of the Rhine under Marshal François Bazaine and been surrendered after the two-month Siege of Metz ended in Prussian victory. Ben spent about a year on duty before returning the United States.

 

Perhaps inspired by wanderlust from his travels during two wars, he spent time on the Pacific Coast before heading back East to New England. He married in 1874 and settled into medical practice in the Boston suburb of Brookline. Politically an independent and an Episcopal by faith, he died in 1925 at age 85.

 

For the officer standing beside Ben, Jerome Keating Bauduy, Nashville is where he met his future wife. Born in 1840 in Cuba, where his wealthy Philadelphia family of French descent had various business investments, the Bauduys associated with another family of French origins, the du Ponts, who had become prominent gunpowder manufacturers.

 

Jerome followed his father, Peter, into the study of medicine. Jerome’s higher education journey started at Georgetown College in Washington, D.C., then to the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, the University of Pennsylvania, and finally Jefferson Medical College. The start of the Civil War briefly interrupted his studies. In the summer of 1861, his name appeared on a list of Regular Army appointments to second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. However, evidence suggests he did not accept the opportunity, choosing instead to finish his education.

 

In early March 1863, Jerome graduated from Jefferson Medical College. His thesis, “Erysipelas as connected with Gunshot Wounds,” suggests he, like Ben, volunteered as a medical cadet at one of the Philadelphia military hospitals, which allowed him to compete his coursework early.

 

On March 12, two days after graduation, Jerome accepted a position as a contract surgeon in the U.S. Army and reported to Nashville for duty, tending patients with Ben in the wards of military hospitals, and passing the examination board to become a commissioned assistant surgeon.

 

Unlike Ben, Jerome did not serve out the entire war. Medical issues forced his resignation in December 1863. But rather than return to Philadelphia, he remained in Nashville. The likely cause was Caroline Bankhead. Her father, James, an Irish immigrant, had settled in Nashville and rose to prominence as a merchant with business interests in New Orleans. Jerome and Caroline met at some point and began a courtship that blossomed and led to their marriage in June 1864. Five months later, Caroline gave birth to a baby boy in St. Louis. Caroline and Jerome named him James K. Bauduy, likely for Caroline’s father and Jerome’s middle name, which was also his mother’s maiden name. The infant died a day after he came into the world, according to city death records.

 

After the war ended, Jerome and Catherine permanently relocated to St. Louis, where 10 more children were born to them, eight of whom lived to maturity. In 1865, Jerome accepted a position as attending physician at St. Vincent’s Institution for the Insane, a private facility established by the Catholic Sisters of Charity. It is possible that Jerome’s mother, Amelia, played a role in landing this job for Jerome. She had entered into monastic life as a Discalced Carmelite in Philadelphia following the death of her husband in 1856, becoming Mother Ignatius.

 

In St. Louis, Jerome prospered at St. Vincent’s. He became fascinated by the study of neurology, or the treatment of issues connected to the nervous system. Its western origins in Europe had first caught the attention of American physicians in the middle part of the century, and the Civil War played a significant role in neurology’s emergence as a distinct field. Battlefield wounds, particularly to the spinal column and head, and related emotional conditions that came to be known in the 20th century as PTSD, fueled intense interest in the American medical establishment during and after the war.

 

Jerome’s practical experience treating soldier-patients and postwar cases and research led to the publication, in 1876, of the clinical textbook Diseases of the Nervous System. The book launched him into the spotlight as a leader in the field.

 

In one passage, Jerome references the impact of war on the nervous system: “The excitements incident to war, and its disastrous consequences, have afforded ample evidences of insanity consequent upon undue violence of the emotions. In a word, whenever the mind of an individual is subjected to undue strain, or the passions are extraordinarily roused, other conditions being favorable, mental alienation may ensue.”

 

Jerome also lectured and authored a number of papers on the subject. In 1890, he released an updated edition of the book. The full catalog of Jerome’s research touched on depression and the use of cocaine as a treatment, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and much more. As chair of Diseases of Mind and the Nervous System at Missouri Medical College, he taught neurology and psychiatry for three decades. He also appeared as an expert witness in a number of murder cases and other sensational courtroom trials, and he received handsome pay for his testimony. He ended his career as emeritus professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

 

Jerome experienced his own violent streak, as evidenced in an 1894 report that he attacked a fellow physician who reportedly insulted or assaulted one of his daughters. Jerome reportedly struck the doctor several times with a heavy cowhide whip, while pointing a revolver at him.

 

This incident may suggest that Jerome’s pursuits in the field of neurology may have been driven, at least in part, by his own search for answers.

 

Tragically, and perhaps ironically, Jerome died in 1914 in an asylum in Buffalo, N.Y. He was 74.

 

It may be fairly stated that the Civil War service in Nashville’s hospitals profoundly shaped the futures of Jerome and Ben, whose careers intersected with neurology, albeit in very different and unexpected ways.

 

I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.

 

Wessex Neurological Centres Iveco daily emergency transfer ambulance seen here en route to Southampton General Hospital.

 

This has had a Double Dash Light added since I last saw it.

The word "Gravity" is a symbol of reality that exists. Similarly E=mc2 is a combination of symbols trying to express some reality. In similar fashion my depiction of flashes (kashf) should be conceived that they are equations in language that nature uses. If “E” stand for “energy” and “=” stand for “equal to” and “m” for “mass” and so on, than in my flashes some wood or earth texture juxtaposed with some toy or any object could be some explanation of some phenomena in language that nature is accustomed to. Perhaps fate had dropped flashes in my lap and I am depicting these flashes for world to know how to derive knowledge out of these flashes. May be from Archetypal plane I am receiving flashes and transforming these into phenomenal plane, but for more perfect transformation, sponsorship is required, like flashes roughly depicted demands super realistic treatment or animations at some points, or arrangements in 3- Dimension or performing activities or etc. at some other points, because each of my work either illustrated or arranged for photo is a part of animation and is just a one shot from one angle of bigger reality, therefore I am not a sur-realist.

For deriving knowledge from my flashes their access to wider researchers in form of website, book, Museum, CD, video, etc. are required. And due to unavailability of resources, most of the paintings were sold before I could photographed these works which basically are like the fossils of the time and region and are done with hope that in future in order to get some data out of these works, the dimensions of anthropology, psychology, historiography, neurology, neuro-physics and other aspects will also be taken into account and the result may benefit in understanding some aspect of the complex Nature. The importance of flashes can be realized from the ripple effect observable in art and multi-media community that somehow came in contact with the work and hijacked ideology out of these flashes, such benefits, scientific community has not taken yet. From art point of view the art community produced high quality variations out of flashes but their work lack archetypal dimension, which is one of the aspect, useful for scientific community to explore. For cataloguing purpose somewhere title or art terminology like: "oil on canvas", "collage", "performance", "installations", "construction", etc. are used has nothing to do with meaning of the work, flashes are independent of these terminologies borrowed from art for cataloguing purpose only, flashes are beyond art. Flashes can include any ism, any element, bizarre thing, anything or things we don't know, that's why thousands of my flashes goes waste due to lack of energy and resources. Besides colorful images, performance and animation, Flashes also comes in form of sound as well, for instance I heard the sound: "Quranic archaeology is a mighty subject," this flash took me into the archaeology. For detail see at: quranicarchaeology.blogspot.com/ Please see my few recorded Flashes on address: www.flickr.com/photos/art-science-works/

Here I just want to share my personal recent refinement on my own analysis (with which you are free to agree or not), that perhaps I should confine myself to Flashes (or call it images) which stay in my eyes just for less than a half second, perhaps for 0.01 second and I simply illustrate these Flashes and what it holds for future Fine Art, Science or Spirituality, I do not know yet. So I isolate myself from dada and sur-realism because I avoid title and avoid mixing my imagination or experimentation in recording of Flashes which is very rare or unrecorded. IN DADA AND SUR-REALISM WE DO READ ABOUT DREAMS AND DRUG INFUSED RANDOM THOUGHTS, BUT NOT FLASHES, SO FAR NO WORD ABOUT FLASHES I FIND EVEN IN FREUD OR JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY, THEY TALK ABOUT DREAM IMPORTANCE. And in Christian art history SO FAR I've only observed mixing of dream and inspiration from Bible. No body so far I have read in dada and sur-realism that somebody is claiming that he is depicting Flashes or depicting flashes without mixing his imagination or experimentation. But after seeing the difference between Flashes and work based on MIXING of imagination or experimentation, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed*, so please never mix me with William Blake, Sohail Tassaduq, De Chirico, Carra, Magrette, because I am not competing in sur-realism, art aesthetic, or in painterly compositions, I have no experience of spirituality, so I request please do not also confuse me with any oriental mystic artists. MY WORK FROM (1974-81) OF INSTALLATIONS, PERFORMANCES BASED ON FLASHES IS STILL UNPUBLISHED, so new writers do not know about it. IN PAKISTANI ART ALSO SO FAR, NO ARTIST HAS EVER CLAIMED FLASHES mixed or un-mixed. For future science world, un-mixed FLASHES will be more important. If you come up with something related to SCIENCE OF FLASHES, please refer it. * NOTE: After seeing the difference between two, that is: (1)Pure Flashes and (2) some of my work based on MIXING of imagination or experimentation with Flashes, now I can pin point the Flash, mixed or unmixed. My unmixed are pure Flashes and to my mixed work(that is no:2) you can call it sur-realistic which I did for commercial reason on client's demand who was mad of sur-realism, I wish I could destroy these sur-realistic works.

Researchers are invited to reply on enigma of colorful flashes. From where they come? they come to all or to few,? Few interesting pieces of writing below could be the starting point for debate: One is by David V. Tansley in his book: 'Subtle body' , author writes,..."the pineal gland has been found to contain vestigial traces of optic tissue. Experiments have shown that nerve impulses arise in the pineal in response to stimulation by light. Galen claimed that the pineal was a regulator of thought, and the Greeks said that the soul was anchored there. According to esoteric tradition this gland is the focal point for the masculine positive energy of spirit which is represented by the first hexagram of l-Ching, its six yang lines symbolizing the primal power of heaven and the creative action of the holy man".

And another relevant thing here is about physicist Mitchell Feigenbaum (reported in the New York Times, 1984), that when inspiration came to Feigenbaum, it was in the form of a picture, a mental image of two small wavy forms and one big one. This gave him an idea about scaling, the way the small features of a thing relate to the large features, it gave him the path he needed. For period doubling, scaling showed not only when one value-a total population or a fluid speed-would break into two, but also just where the new values would be found, Scaling was an intimate feature of the peculiar world Feigenbaum was beginning to explore. Arthur I. Miller in a discussion of "redefining visualizability" makes it clear...the experimental evidence prevents us from forming a mental image bridging the wave-particle duality, such an image is available by 'Anschaulichheit' (German term for intuition, plus more) of another kind. It is the kind of image the physicist Werner Heisenberg had in mind when he asserted that, although the causality of classical mechanics has no access to quantum theory, quantum mechanics should not be considered unanschaulich, that is, excluded from imagery (Miller, Imagery in Scientific Thought). One example of such image is Albert Einstein's famous thought experiment in which he demonstrated the equivalence of inertia and gravitation by imagining an observer pulled through empty space in a closed container. Such images, however, lead by degrees of abstraction to others limited to spatial diagrams of a theoretical situation. Sigmund Freud, for example, writes, "We assume that the psychic life has the function of an apparatus, to which we attribute spatial extension and which we imagine as being composed of several pieces, similar to a telescope or microscope" Although such an image provides complementarity with a concrete percept of its models, it would not seem to provide it with a representable reality. But some physicists disagree that Niels Bohr never apply his notion of complementarity to subject other than physics. But for some physicists the contrary is true. From Rudolf Arnheim's essay: Complementarity from the outside. May be or may not be these above references are relevant here for flashes I do not know, but for scientific analysis it is important to state briefly here the background of how I realized the importance of these flashes, but for scientific cause I have to write what I should not. I hope my friends will forgive me for this cause, because for good Gestalt one should have all the possible details in mind, it is beyond humans to perceive Perfect Gestalt, only Allah knows everything.

In between, some works in form of small photo with ink or other media are what I called these: Today’s Miniature Works, it’s personal feeling that any other like me can also claim we never know what time can prove but thing should be recorded, this is what I am doing here. One of the experiments was a debate on miniature art, I told many, it should be saturated with current and regional issues or concepts, which I painted with brush and camera, etc. and called it Today’s Miniature Art, long before it became a trend. Indeed now it is much refined by our younger generation of artists, I hope they remember my small contribution untold to them. such miniatures along with other experiments of early 70’s I had shown to Bashir Mirza, Ali Imam, Ahmed Pervez, Jamil Naqsh, Imran Mir, Iqbal Jaffery, Naseem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Ali Bhatti, Dr. Sajid Khan, Iqbal Durrani, Mohsin Zaidi and other artists and art collectors. But BM and Imam refused to exhibit these experiments (flashes) on ground that these experiments will become important in future, first I should make my name famous with super realistic sort of works, which they were selling easily, so I had to exhibit these experiments (flashes) at PACC, Karachi, Jan 8, 1979, about which Daily News reported: "Artist Bashir.Mirza inaugurated an exhibition of paintings by Saleem Mansoor, a 19-year old student at the PACC yesterday. Saleem has .a distinct talent in Art. He has painted old colonial houses in a remarkably sound representational style, he has to stick to this style in order to develop his aesthetic sense instead of delving into different styles".Daily News, Jan 9, 1979 This above small press coverage is evidence of my habit of delving into different styles and evidence of how brutally my Pakistani- avant gaurd works (that I did between 1974-1978 which were displayed in this 1979 exhibition) were brutally ignored by media. I invited Dr. Akbar Naqvi the only art critic I knew at that time, but he did not came, perhaps due to reason of event of Dec. 1974, when Ali Imam told me that Dr. Akbar is offering four hundred for your painting of nine hundred rupee, but I refused, after that I was never introduced to any art critic, nor Dr, Akbar wrote a word on me and not even in his book and other art historian also not included me in their books, and no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, but can history ignore the influence of my Flashes recorded in an unmistakable solid resources other than these local sources ? If conceptualy analysed what Fine Art is all about ? than even two or three flashes from my 70's or early 80's (which Dr. Naqvi has seen) will have more wheight than works represented in local art books. This is not proudness on myself this is an admiration of gift from nature that I got in form of Flashes, although my depiction of Flashes is bad, because I have no proffessional art training nor I am better artist than many artists represented in local art books, on this ground Dr. Akbar Naqvi, S. Amjad Ali, Ejazul Hassan, Salwat Ali are right in not including me in their books. But I depict or record Flashes with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. When I put all these before Marjorie she replied my email with these highly rewarding words: " What you have to say is extremely important, but you have always been way ahead of your time and environment. Mansoor, it is very hard to be a pioneer, but you are in the best of company in art history. Do not despair"---Marjorie Hussain, 5. 19. 2008, 9.03.am. Marjorie perhaps discovered me in 1983 through BM and Imam as her this recording shows:

"Saleem Mansur is an extremely interesting artist: "an artist's artist' as Ali Imam used to say. Bashir Mirza who juried Mansur's thesis work at the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts in 1983, was also numbered among the artist's admirers and on that occasion was greatly excited by the audacious innovations of the young "avant-garde' artist. Mansur was even then into installations, happenings and conceptual art, ....... In spite of the success in terms of the work, Mansur returned totally to the conceptual language that few understood. Those who did, considered him the most innovative and promising artist of his generation." ---Marjorie Hussain, Art Views, page.146. Published by fomma. And according to founder of fomma: Imran Mir (who knew me scince 1975) use to say... "because of his "Garage Series" Mansur was an artist before admission at CIAC" . To some extent he is right, since then I am like a scientist trying to record or understand the phenomenae of Flashes which immenssly influenced even the senior artists and since than I am enjoying the ripple effects of my Flashes that I exhibited between 1974-80, because of these years' work, Imam and BM passed highly praised words to Marjorie in my 1983 show at Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi, which Dr. Akbar Naqvi also saw (in 1984 display at the same place), but avoided to write and said I will see your next show. despite all these I still like him and all other art critics because of their love with fine art.

In late 70's some art students from KSA and CIAC came to my house and told me they have taken address from the back of my canvas at BM and Indus Galleries and developed a friendship and insisted me to take admission in their art school, I told them I am refusing my father who has managed my addmission in NCA on ground that I can not work on others' assignment, but among them Mohsin Zaidi gave me inside story and assurrance that at CIAC I will have full freedom to do my own experiments, I decided to register at CIAC in 1981 where for new audience I repeated most of my earlier works for photo and film recording the facility of which I found among new friends and all these recording I took NCA (1981) to show it there as well to check the ripple effect of my Flashes and later I exhibited at NAG, Islamabad, Al-Hamra, Lahore (1984) about which Yasin Muhammad, Salima Hashmi, Ghulam Nabi and others wrote good comments. For press coverage Click Here

It was not important for me to call my small size works as "todays miniature art", because these recording of flashes are blue print for performmance, installations, 3D animation, etc., and these are blue print for science as well as specialist of quantum physics Thomas Young says, if we isolate light particle from other particle than its duplicate takes its place and that duplicate comes from other universe or from else we do not know yet but it certainly shows we all have our duplicates including universe within universe. Beyond particle there is particle-Less field in atom to which Euorpean physicst call God-particle, this field if it is realy particle-Less perhaps is a curtain between the world and the other worlds of spirits, jins, angels, etc. visible after death only and not through telescope, space ship, microscope, etc. so flashes could be the LINK with the other worlds we have yet to understand. It looks to me all the flashes came to me in one night of 1973 or 1974 and scince then I am trying to somehow to capture them in notes or in illustration and in this effort flashes do come back one by one but still my energy and skill is not sufficient to record all those moving and still flashes, I hired one video recorder in 1981 through Sadiq of CIAC to record such Flashes but budget did not allowed to refine it or to produce more. What ever Flashes I recorded between 1974-1982 is my work that has immense ripple effects without any economical reward.

A year before Metric and much before Diploma in fine art, my art works (flashes) since 1974 were on display at Atelier BM and at Indus gallery, and since then I am observing the ripple effect of those works. After solo show of my works at Pakistan American Cultural Center, January 1979, I went to CIAC, Karachi Arts Council, to check effects of my art and science works among artists. Before flashes since 1973 I was only doing super realistic sort of paintings of surrounding and of interior Sindh culture and capturing the local environment to come up with something: Pakistani avant-garde which I displayed at PACC solo show in Jan. 1979. But was ignored by media, only small press coverage came with a suggestion: "Mansoor has to stick to his remarkably sound realistic style instead of delving into many styles". (Art show, Daily News, Jan. 9, 1979). But anyhow I was realizing the importance of my flashes which were inspiring the most intelligent and talented of artist community for example: Ghalib Baqar changed his Dali sort of Sur realism into experimental water color, other water colorists like Abdul Hayee, Ather Jamal, Zahin Ahmad, Hanif Shezad, etc. added Karachi and interior Sindh imagery into their work.

One of world's best super realist artist Shakil Siddiquei changed his Rembrandt sort of style into super realistic abstraction, for instance his paintings of Book shelf, Notice board, door, windows, composition with Dawn news paper, Sindhi dari, fruit packing wooden peyti, Chilmun and etc., in subject matter, were directly inspired by my flashes in form of photos or artworks I shared with him. Art critic Dr. S. Amjad Ali in his article: "Growing trend towards realism", wrote;..."Saleem Mansoor was the first to begin this kind of realism in Karachi but he was well advised to give up after creating a few interesting pieces. It is a good way of gaining command over technique and then putting it to other use in which more thought and feeling comes into play." (Dawn, April 20, 1984). Ejazul Hassan wrote in Page 17, 123 in the catalogue of 5th National Exhibition, 1985, Published by Idara Saqafat Pakistan, written by Ejazul Husan. "Young Mansoor Saleem has his own unusual way with objects and space. He sometimes likes to call his work as "installation" in the environment around him. He always wants to place things where he thinks these should be placed. The coiled wire, with a crescent on top, placed on a gray composition is evidence of his restless imagination. The title "Pakistani Avnet Garde" also shows his wit." (—page 123, Ejazul Husan) "The young painter Saleem Mansoor....investigates new methods and techniques not only meant to widen the scope and definition of realism but also to discover fresh methods to stimulate the viewers' response. His 'painting' titled The Pakistani Avant-garde' is wittily fabricated with tan-gue-in-cheek humor making an apt comment on elitist attitudes and trends in modern art."—(page: 17, from the introduction of 5th National Exhibition by Ejazul Hasan).

Most helping and highly creative artist and multi media man Imran Mir in 1975 appreciated my work in high remarks when he was discussing with Bashir Mirza at Atelier BM. BM was telling him that before going to Canada what Imran observed in art scene was still the same when he returned after many years, that Ahmed Pervaiz is repeating Allen Davy, and Shakir Ali, Mansur Rahi and their students were repeating Picasso and Braque's cubism in Indian or Bengali styles and Jamil Naqsh, Lubna Agha, Mansur Aye, Mashkoor, and others are repeating the same compositions, Rabia Zuberi and Shahid Sajjad repeating Henry Moor and so on. Imran pointing towards my work replied: "he is the change"! and BM acknowledged it. Imran like Zahoor ul Akhlaque also absorbed important elements from my flashes but both only absorbed postmodern art-elements from my flashes (but they absorbed postmodern element from other sources also like we see in work of Herbert Bayer, Jennifer Bartlett, Ross Blacker, Sean Scully and etc), which not much is my concerned. During my slide show at NCA in 1981, Zahoor and his wife asked me about my future plan, they were surprised to hear that I will soon be joining Archaeology Department in some university because from inside I am an anthropologist also. All my work is not only a statement in anthropology, but is also a statement in neurology, physics, and other sciences. Imran sincerely wanted to bring post modern trends in the region, perhaps for variety he introduced me to many artists, for instance, one day Imran came to me and carried my work's photos in his car and took me to David Alesworth's house and showed my work to him and his wife Durriya and Imran told them to do something like that and after one month of that, Imran's wife Nighat, told me; "Mansoor! You know Durriya is taking your sort of Truck art from Karachi to Peshawar". Nighat was saying that because she much before this event has written an article in press on my 1977 Truck art collection and Sara Irshad has written on my 1981 work: "Taking art show on donkey cart to the folk". Durriya and David not only took the advantage of my flashes but others also followed similar ideology, for instance Ruby Chisti, Masooma Syed, Naiza Khan, Adeela Khan, Rashid Rana, Noorjehn Bilgramy, Huma Mulji, Farida Batool, Ali Raza, Sophie Ernst, Faiza But, M. Ali Talpur, Imran Qureshi, Ameen Gulgee, Jamal Shah, Nazish Ataullah, Aaisha Khalid, Risham Syed and many others who spread the ideology to Melbourne, Dubai, London, New York, etc.

Before their first thesis, IVSAA'S principal invited me for slide show of my work, but to my surprise only the faculty staff was invited and not the students. After a month or so one of the faculty member Kamran Hamid told me, "Mansoor go and see student's thesis at IVSAA where teachers has influenced students to do work which is similar to your ideology"." Now it is a tradition there. Even their very architecture is based on the ideology of some of my old flashes and on article published in press. Despite their ignorance I still like IVSAA for their spirit to move forward.

Against me, I even find wrong propaganda by hijackers of my work. And rather through lobby in media they even sensor or edit my interviews according to their need of representing me with those works which they have not preferred to hijack from my flashes. In Shisha, Shanakht, Carce, IVSAA, Fomma, VASL and VSDKU works I have observed direct influence of ideologies, imageries derived out of my flashes. For assessment of the influence, historiographical approach is required. For commercial reason, they can ignore me too but future history will not. Local art magazine and art book writers were chased to ignore me If media is free or they have no lobby system, than why merit is ignored in my case, why Dawn's Gallery, The News, Jung, avoid covering my art shows. I also held slide show of the work at NCA in 1981, where Zahoor-ul-Akhlaque, his wife and his students saw the show. Salima Hashmi wrote an article on my exhibition at Alhambra gallery Lahore, in March, 1984. The effort bore its fruit, through historiography one can trace after 1981, the change in NCA and change in Zahoor, Ejazul Hasan, Salima Hashmi, Shahid Sajjad, Mehar Afroze, etc., and change in their younger generation of students. They and other agents and technology (since 1974 perhaps) spread the influence of my flashes abroad as well, for instance on Beverly Pepper, Nicole Eisenman, Anish Kapoor, Mohsin Zaidi, Susanne Kessler and etc. Etc. All the names mentioned above have the right to disagree with me, these are just friendly assumptions for researchers to look at such debate too to guess what the flashes are? I too was inspired by many but after receiving Flashes from nature, I painted these with realization that they are more important than Mona Lisa, E=mc2 or Taj Mahal. I have no solo shows in prestigious gallery abroad I have no big post, scholarship or any sponsorship or awards, etc. But what Nature has given me in form of Flashes is more important that they are prototype for all time to come, back to the future or forward into the past. All artists are free to make anything they wish or according to market Forces but I have to make (for science) what I receive in form of flashes. Historiographicaly speaking Flashes' influence is more than what the work of Shakir Ali, Sadequein, Gulgee, M.F. Hussain and etc. had. But no comment I see in the catalogue of 2007- National exhibition, even the Karachiets have ignored me too, but not artchowk.com, I admire the support I am getting from people behind artchowk. I need Du'a to continue the mission, if possible Inshallah. ......MS

FROM DUBAI BASED ART GALLERY YOU CAN ACQUIRE MY FLASHES FROM: www.artchowk.com/Views/gallery/exhibition

   

Technical Manual: Chromolithographic Production of a Decorative Trunk-Lid Print (c. 1880s)

 

This decorative trunk-lid image was created by chromolithography, the leading high-quality color printing process of the late 19th century. It combined freehand artistry for pictorial elements with precise mechanical drawing for borders and geometric motifs. The process was entirely manual in this period—no photographic separations were used—and required exacting craftsmanship to produce a richly layered, perfectly registered color image.

 

I. Detailed Process Description

 

1. The Key Stone

 

The process began with the “key” or outline stone.

 

The lithographer drew the full design, in reverse, on a smooth, polished slab of Bavarian limestone using greasy lithographic crayon or tusche (greasy ink).

 

This stone carried all outlines, contour lines, and key shading cues.

 

Registration marks—crosses or pinholes in the margins—were incorporated so that every later color impression could be matched precisely to it.

 

For geometric elements such as borders, frames, corner ornaments, or medallion arcs, the lithographer employed rulers, straightedges, compasses, and French curves. This ensured perfect parallelism, uniform line width, and symmetry. Repeating motifs in borders were often laid out with dividers or spacing marks before being finished by hand.

 

The key drawing integrated these mechanically precise elements seamlessly with freehand rendering of organic forms such as the woman’s portrait, foliage, and landscape details.

 

After completion, the stone surface was chemically treated with gum arabic and dilute nitric acid so that greasy image areas would accept oil-based ink while the blank areas repelled it.

 

2. Creating the Faint Guide Transfers

 

The key stone was inked in a neutral tone—commonly light grey, sepia, or pale ochre.

 

Impressions were pulled onto specially prepared transfer paper coated with a thin layer of adhesive such as gelatin.

 

These impressions, called “transfers” or “pulls”, were strong enough to be visible but pale enough not to interfere with later color drawing.

 

Each transfer sheet was placed face down on a blank polished stone and run through the press under pressure. The greasy ink transferred into the pores of the new stone’s surface, producing a pale, precise replica of the entire design.

 

One transfer was made for each color stone planned—often 8–15 for a richly shaded piece like this.

 

3. Drawing Each Color Stone by Hand

 

On each transferred stone, the lithographer worked only on the areas to be printed in that stone’s specific color.

 

Pictorial areas (faces, floral elements, landscape features) were rendered freehand using stipple dots, hatching, and textured crayon marks to create tonal gradations.

 

Geometric areas (borders, lines, decorative panels) in that color were drawn using rulers, compasses, and templates to maintain straightness, curvature, and even spacing.

 

The lithographer had to anticipate how transparent inks would overlap with others to form new colors. This required leaving certain areas open, or creating deliberate overlaps to produce secondary hues (e.g., printing blue over yellow to make green).

 

No photographic separation was used—color interpretation was entirely a matter of artistic judgment.

 

4. Judgement and Artistry

 

Transparent inks meant the lithographer had to visualize the cumulative result of multiple layers before printing began.

 

Overlaps were planned to achieve desired hues without muddying.

 

In complex areas like the sitter’s complexion, effects were built up by combining a base tone (e.g., pale yellow) with flesh pink and then adding subtle shading through stippling or fine hatching in a darker tint.

 

5. Proofing and Adjustments

 

After each stone was drawn, a proof print was pulled.

 

Registration was checked against the key, and tonal balance was evaluated.

 

Corrections could be made by grinding down areas of the stone with pumice or adding new greasy drawing where needed.

 

Proofing and correction cycles continued until every stone printed cleanly and registered perfectly with the others.

 

6. Sequential Printing

 

Printing typically began with the lightest colors and progressed to the darkest.

 

Each sheet of paper was dampened, aligned to the registration marks, and printed one color at a time.

 

After each pass, the sheet was dried (or re-dampened if needed) before receiving the next color.

 

Transparent inks allowed optical blending—yellow printed first, blue later, producing green in overlapping areas.

 

Borders and other critical alignment points were checked with each pass to maintain precision.

 

II. Probable Color Sequence for This Print

 

Based on late-19th-century practice and the observed palette of your trunk-lid image:

 

Light Yellow – Base tone for foliage highlights, ribbon accents, and underpainting for skin tones.

 

Light Pink / Flesh Tint – Applied over yellow in portrait areas; also in floral details.

 

Sky Blue – Ribbon background, water, and cool shadows; provides base for greens when overprinted with yellow.

 

Light Green – Foliage tints achieved by printing over yellow and/or blue.

 

Warm Ochre / Buff – Mid-tone background fills and ornamental elements.

 

Mid-Red / Rose – Floral accents, ribbon details, lips and cheeks.

 

Dark Green – Deep foliage shadows and ornamental border accents.

 

Dark Blue – Shading in ribbon folds, water, and certain border areas.

 

Brown – Hair, tree trunks, warm shadow areas.

 

Black (Key Plate) – Final pass, reinforcing outlines, details, and definition.

 

Note: Some printers reversed steps 9 and 10, but decorative trunk-lid work typically saved the black for last to achieve maximum crispness in outlines.

 

III. Size

 

\Commercial chromolithography in the 19th century had a surprisingly wide size range, and by the 1880s there were presses and stones capable of printing very large sheets—but “routine” sizes were smaller than the record-breakers.

 

Here’s what the sources indicate:

Typical Commercial Sizes

 

Most advertising chromos and decorative prints (trade cards, cigar labels, trunk-lid liners, calendars) were under 18 × 24 inches (45 × 60 cm).

 

This size range kept stone weight manageable (under ~40–50 lbs) and allowed fast presswork without excessive paper costs.

 

Large-Format Work in Regular Use

 

By the 1870s–1890s, firms in the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany routinely printed posters, maps, and wall charts up to about 24 × 36 inches (61 × 91 cm) in a single sheet.

 

Large railroad and theater posters were sometimes printed as multiple sheets to be joined after printing—each sheet a separate lithographic run.

 

Stones for these larger single sheets could weigh 200–300 lbs, which was about the upper limit for regular commercial handling.

 

Extra-Large (Occasional, Not Routine)

 

A few specialized presses and workshops produced single-sheet chromolithographs up to 30 × 40 inches (76 × 102 cm) or even 40 × 60 inches (102 × 152 cm).

 

These were not everyday jobs—they required special heavy presses and crews to handle the stones. Examples include:

 

French art publishers like Lemercier producing oversize posters for exhibitions in the 1870s–1880s.

 

American billboard chromos in the 1890s printed for product advertising; often pasted in sections, but sometimes one monumental sheet if the client paid the premium.

 

Why “Routine” Stopped Around 24 × 36 inches

 

Larger stones became exponentially heavier and harder to keep in register.

 

The risk of breaking a costly Bavarian limestone during handling increased with size.

 

Press speeds dropped as sheet size increased, making large runs slower and more expensive.

 

Bottom line:

 

Routine large commercial chromolithographs: up to about 24 × 36 inches (61 × 91 cm) in a single sheet.

 

Specialized/occasional work: up to about 40 × 60 inches (102 × 152 cm), but rare and costly.

 

Anything bigger was usually produced as multiple sheets to be assembled on site.

 

IV. Estimated Production Time for Initial Creation

 

Based on period trade manuals and documented work rates in late-19th-century lithographic shops:

 

Drawing the Key Stone: 2–4 days (18–30 hours)

 

Printing Key Transfers to Color Stones: 0.5–1 day

 

Drawing All Color Stones:

 

Simple stones (flat color fills): ~1 day each

 

Complex stones (shaded or detailed): 1.5–2 days each

 

For a 10-color job: ~14–18 days total

 

Proofing and Corrections: 3–5 days

 

Total Working Time: ≈ 20–28 working days

Elapsed Time: ≈ 4–6 weeks for one lithographer/artist, supported by press operators.

 

Large firms with multiple artists could reduce elapsed time, but decorative trunk-lid work was often done at an artisanal pace rather than mass-production speed.

 

Total direct chromolithographic employment in U.S. ca. 1890–1900: ~10,000–12,000 workers.

(This excludes related trades like engravers, photographers, and bindery workers who might work with litho output.)

 

V. Estimated 1880s Production Cost

 

Using data from American and British lithographic trade catalogs, printers’ journals, and jobbing price lists from the 1870s–1890s:

 

Artist’s Fee (design and stone drawing): $25–$40

 

Stone Preparation & Etching: $5–$8

 

Presswork per Color: $1.50–$3 per 1,000 impressions, per color stone

 

Materials:

 

Bavarian limestones (reusable): $3–$5 each (capital cost)

 

Inks and gum/acid solutions: $2–$4 per job

 

Transfer paper: ~$1 per job

 

Overhead (shop labor, utilities, depreciation): $5–$10 per job

 

For a 10-color image at a run of 500–1,000 prints:

 

Total Cost to Client (1880s): ≈ $50–$75

 

Higher runs reduced per-unit cost sharply, but initial image creation (especially artist’s labor) was a fixed, front-loaded expense.

 

VI Occupational Hazards in 19th-Century Chromolithography

 

While the 1880s chromolithographic process produced vivid, durable images, it also exposed workers to toxic pigments, solvents, and dusts. These materials posed significant health risks, and historical evidence from trade journals, factory inspection reports, and medical literature of the period confirms that occupational disease was common in the printing trades, including lithography.

 

1. Pigments

 

Many of the brilliant, permanent colors relied on heavy-metal compounds. Examples include:

 

Chrome Yellow – Lead chromate (PbCrO₄). Bright, opaque yellow used for ornaments and underlayers. Risks: lead poisoning (anemia, colic, neurological damage) and chromium-induced skin and respiratory irritation.

 

Emerald Green / Paris Green – Copper acetoarsenite. Vivid green for foliage and decorative borders. Risks: arsenic poisoning (skin lesions, respiratory illness, systemic toxicity).

 

Vermilion – Mercuric sulfide (HgS). Rich red for accents. Risks: mercury poisoning (tremors, mood disorders, cognitive decline).

 

White highlights – Lead carbonate (PbCO₃). Risks: lead poisoning.

 

Red lead (Pb₃O₄) – Used for some warm red tones. Risks: lead poisoning.

 

Cobalt pigments – Blues; less toxic than lead or arsenic but hazardous in dust form.

 

Prussian Blue – Ferric ferrocyanide; relatively low toxicity, but dust inhalation was still discouraged.

 

Exposure pathways: Pigment dust during grinding/mixing; skin contact; ingestion via contaminated hands or food.

 

2. Inks and Solvents

 

Oil-based inks were ground with linseed oil and diluted with turpentine or benzene-type solvents.

 

Benzene, not yet recognized as a carcinogen, was associated with dizziness, headaches, and chronic neurological symptoms in exposed workers.

 

Turpentine caused skin irritation and, in high vapor concentrations, respiratory distress.

 

3. Etching and Stone Preparation

 

Etching solution: Gum arabic mixed with dilute nitric acid. Nitric acid vapors could irritate eyes, throat, and lungs.

 

Stone graining/polishing: Pumice and sand were used to prepare stones, generating silica dust, a cause of silicosis with chronic inhalation.

 

4. Documented Health Effects

 

Contemporary medical and trade sources document:

 

Lead poisoning (“painter’s colic,” tremors, muscle weakness, abdominal pain, memory loss).

 

Arsenic toxicity (skin eruptions, sore throat, chronic cough, systemic symptoms).

 

Mercury poisoning (tremor, mood instability, cognitive changes).

 

Chronic bronchitis and eye irritation from acid fumes.

 

Silicosis in long-serving stone preparers and press workers exposed to fine dust.

 

5. Workplace Practices

 

Little or no protective equipment was used.

 

Workers frequently ate, drank, or smoked at their benches.

 

Ventilation was often inadequate, especially in winter when windows stayed closed.

 

Mechanical pigment mixers and enclosed presses, which reduced dust and vapor exposure, only began to appear in larger firms in the late 19th century.

 

Conclusion:

 

The production of chromolithographs in the 1880s was not only an artistic and technical achievement but also a process with significant hidden costs to the health of the workers who produced them. The durability and brilliance of these prints often came at the expense of prolonged exposure to lead, arsenic, mercury, acid vapors, and fine dust—a reality rarely acknowledged in decorative trade literature of the period.

 

VII. Summary

 

This 1880s trunk-lid chromolithograph was the product of 20–28 working days of skilled labor by a lithographer, supported by a press crew, and costing the client the equivalent of several thousand dollars in today’s money.

 

It required:

 

Freehand artistry for portraits, landscapes, and organic elements.

 

Ruler-and-compass precision for ornamental borders and geometric motifs.

 

Stone-by-stone planning of transparent color overlaps.

 

Exact registration across 10 separate printings.

 

The result was a brilliantly colored, durable image, perfectly suited to enliven the interior of a travel trunk—and to survive for well over a century.

 

Supplement

 

i. The development of chromolithography in the Europe and the US.

 

Europe: Development

 

Early 19th century – Foundations in Bavaria and France

Senefelder himself experimented with multi-color printing almost from the start (he wrote about “polyautography” in his 1818 treatise), but the technical and economic obstacles kept most lithography single-color for decades.

 

1830s – Practical multi-color experiments in France

The first systematic attempts to produce full-color lithographs by using separate stones for each color occurred in France. The printer Godefroy Engelmann of Mulhouse and Paris is widely credited with perfecting the process and securing a patent for “chromolithographie” in 1837.

 

Engelmann’s innovation was to work out methods for precise registration of multiple stones, using transparent inks to blend colors and produce painterly effects.

 

1840s – Refinement in Paris and Munich

French and Bavarian firms refined techniques for preparing multiple stones, planning color separations, and printing in sequence. Early chromolithographs were often high-art reproductions—costly, with limited runs.

 

Europe: Commercialization

 

1850s – Popularization in France, Germany, and Britain

 

Advances in presses, inks, and stone preparation allowed larger runs at lower cost. In Paris, firms like Lemercier mass-produced decorative prints, maps, and reproductions. In Munich, firms like Strixner & Cie became known for rich color art plates. In Britain, the process was adopted for book illustration and advertising.

 

1850s–1860s – Introduction to the United States

 

Chromolithography reached the U.S. in the early 1840s, but true commercial-scale production took off after the Boston lithographer Louis Prang began producing high-quality, multi-color prints in the 1860s.

 

Prang’s work—especially his Christmas cards and art reproductions—made chromolithography a household term in America.

 

1870s–1890s – Peak commercial use

 

By this period, chromolithography had become the dominant method for high-quality color printing in advertising (trade cards, posters, packaging), decorative art prints, maps, and ephemera such as the trunk-lid prints you’re studying. The combination of improved stone-handling, faster presses, and cheaper inks made it possible to produce vivid, durable color images for a mass market.

 

Timeline: Chromolithography in the United States

 

1820s – First lithographic presses appear in major U.S. cities; work is monochrome, with color added by hand.

 

1840s – Small-scale multi-color experiments begin in American shops. Imported European chromolithographs are sold to wealthy buyers but domestic production is limited.

 

1850s – Chromolithography begins to be practiced in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, often by immigrant printers trained in Europe. Still mainly used for maps, sheet music covers, and decorative prints.

 

1860s – Louis Prang of Boston pioneers high-quality American chromolithography. His “Prang’s Chromos” (art reproductions and greeting cards) become nationally known. Multi-stone, transparent-ink printing becomes more common in U.S. advertising and fine-art work.

 

1870s – Rapid expansion of chromolithography in commercial advertising. Used for trade cards, cigar box labels, and posters. Printing technology improves, allowing finer registration and larger press runs.

 

1880s–1890s – Chromolithography reaches industrial scale in the U.S. Bright, durable color images appear on everything from product packaging to educational charts and decorative items such as trunk-lid liners. Multi-stone printing (8–12 colors) is standard for high-quality work, with both freehand and ruler-based drafting techniques used in the same design.

 

ii The End of Commercial Chromolithography

 

How Rapidly Chromolithography Was Abandoned

 

1890s: Chromolithography still dominant for posters, packaging, and decorative prints, but halftone work begins to capture advertising and magazine illustration.

 

1900–1910: Offset lithography and letterpress with color halftones begin to outcompete chromolithography for most commercial uses.

 

1910s–1920s: The shift accelerates — offset can print faster, at lower cost, with acceptable color fidelity.

 

Chromolithography survives mainly in high-art reproductions and specialty decorative work.

 

1930s: In the U.S. and Europe, chromolithography is effectively obsolete for mass-market commercial jobs. The skill of hand-drawing multi-stone separations becomes rare.

 

Post-1930s: Only a few fine-art printers and specialty houses continue using chromolithography, often as a deliberate artisanal choice rather than a commercial necessity.

  

This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.

The last remaining Ravenswood abandoned hospital is finally being rehabbed. Work started recently to make this old hospital into new retirement senior living, apartments will be made into supportive living. Before it closed, this building of the hospital was being used for Neurologic and Orthopedic spinal and brain care. I was born in Ravenswood hospital in the section that was demolished and turned into a french school. Lycee Francais

@tokyo

*Graflex Speed Graphics+Ektar 127mm f4.7+AgfaCT 120film(6x9)

*Viewing in LARGE SIZE is definitely the best!!

Illustration of the neurological connections in the brain controlling speech production.

 

Credit: Stefan Fuertinger and Kristina Simonyan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

 

This image is not owned by the NIH. It is shared with the public under license. If you have a question about using or reproducing this image, please contact the creator listed in the credits. All rights to the work remain with the original creator.

 

NIH support from: National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders

 

Brain medicine mental health care concept as hands holding an open pill capsule releasing gears to a human head made of machine cog wheels as a symbol for the pharmaceutical science of neurology and the treatment of psychological illness.

digital art

Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Neurology deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the central and peripheral nervous system including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue, such as muscle. Neurological practice relies heavily on the field of neuroscience, which is the scientific study of the nervous system.

 

Read about The ‘Giant’ Scope of ‘Mini’ Brains - bit.ly/2eEvDze

Neurologically Operated Robotic Automoton, or N.O.R.A. was meant to be Victor's solution to both preserving his beloved wife, and allowing her to continue to function in the world while he could focus on finding her a cure. Only the years as a human snow cone and constant battles Batman have not been kind to Nora. While technically still alive, her body and mind have suffered extensive tissue damage, and she can no longer control N.O.R.A. Instead Victor has taken over the controls. Now outfitted with a mammoth freeze cannon, hurling pissed off polar bears, and a doomsday failsafe that will trigger a cataclysmic nuclear winter, N.O.R.A. Will become the vehicle of Victor's ultimate revenge against Batman and a world whose heart has grown cold.

 

My entry for FBTB's Mech Madness 2012

I spent yesterday taking Janice to the neurologist for her routine exam, and then my dad to an orthopedist, to plan for knee surgery. Fortunately, I had my point-and-shoot! Here are some objects on the table in the first exam room.

*** EXCLUSIVE - VIDEO AVAILABLE *** BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 13: Jody Robson, who believes she has Kleine Levin Syndrome, is pictured asleep, on September 13, 2015, in Birmingham, England. A MOTHER has no recollection of the birth of her first born because she was ASLEEP. Jody Robson, 24, from Birmingham, falls asleep for up to 11 days at a time and can take weeks to emerge from her stupor. Although she has not been formally diagnosed, Jody believes she has Kleine Levin Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that sees those afflicted unable to rouse from sleep for days or even weeks on end. Jodyís episodes are so severe that she has no recollection of several Christmases and even slept through the birth of her first child. PHOTOGRAPH BY Nick Cunard / Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com

Neurological Rehabilitation Reportage - Fondazione Maugeri, Mistretta

416-410-9339 Ext 2 / www.trigenics.ca

 

GOT PAIN?

Tried The Rest?

Try The Best!!

 

Try Trigenics®

 

Trigenics® is a revolutionary, neurological treatment system that instantly relieves pain, accelerates healing, restores strength and movement, and corrects meridian energy problems.

 

Trigenics® treats your nervous system to reset the way your brain communicates with your body.

 

Trigenics® neuromanual treatment interactively combines three treatment techniques applied at the same time to create a cumulative effect, which is much greater than if it would be had received only one. Trigenics® can be used from a western or eastern medicine perspective

 

For more information about Trigenics click here...

 

CONDITIONS TREATED

TRIGENICS is remarkably effective in providing relief for many conditions such as:

 

- Acute or chronic injuries

- All forms of tendonitis including:

- Tennis elbow

(lateral epicondylitis)

- Golfer's elbow

(medial epicondylitis),

- All sprain/ strain injuries,

- Asthma,

- Carpal tunnel syndrome,

- Disc herniations

- Energetic conditions,

 

- Frozen shoulder,

- Generalized stress or

anxiety related conditions

- Headaches,

- Jaw pain (TMJ),

- Joint conditions,

- Leg pain from sciatica,

- Muscular conditions,

- Neck pain,

- Neurological conditions:

- Stroke

- Trigeminal neuralgia

- Bells palsy

- Spinal cord injuries

- Birth trauma

- Cerebral palsy

- Multiple sclerosis

- Organic conditions,

- Pain syndromes,

- Plantar fasciitis,

- Pre and post joint surgeries

and joint replacement surgeries

- Radiating arm and head pain,

- Sports injuries,

- Thoracic outlet syndrome,

- Upper and lower back pain,

- Whiplash/ auto accidents,

- Wry neck (torticollis)

 

416-410-9339 eXT 2

principles of neural science, basic pathology, surgery cases

Uniklinik Frankfurt

University Hospital

 

UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1. Completed 1978.

 

Sony A7 + Canon FD 35mm f/2.0 SSC.

My neurological disorder has changed, and made me ever more confused and stressed.

 

My eyes no longer shake violently (thank goodness!), though they are still a chore to keep open. Holding either (or both) eyelid open doesn't help as my vision now crosses inward slightly, causing constant double vision, blurriness and migraines.

 

Again, everything disappears when yawning or speaking.

 

I'm exhausted from losing sleep over my ever-changing condition, wishing I were back to normal, and simply trying to stay positive. But most of all I'm tired of the lack of effort from doctors trying to figure this thing out. I've seen the best Ontario has to offer, and the most I'm offered in return is a pat on the back and a "don't let it run your life." Easy for you to say, when you can read a sentence on a piece of paper without twitching back and forth to both keep your eyes open and in focus. I'm not seeking empathy, and I understand movement disorders cannot be neatly compartmentalized, but additional testing without having to BEG for it would be nice! Ah... the irony of Canada's free health care. It's at this stage that I'm tempted to say "if they were only in my shoes..." -- but of course that would lead nowhere good.

 

I may not be able to see my wife's smile any longer, though at least I can now fully appreciate her perfume and the smell of her hair :) Now if that goes, she's in trouble as the hands would be doing more groping.

Capt. (Dr.) Wesley Reynolds studies a patient’s computed tomography scan at the Mike O’Callaghan Federal Medical Center March 18, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. March is brain injury awareness month. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, about 75 percent of traumatic brain injuries are concussions or other forms of mild TBIs. Reynolds is a 99th Medical Operations Squadron neurologist. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Couillard/Released)

From this blog entry:

prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/C1276349108/E20081209083...

 

NIH-funded mouse study suggests scar formation may help, not hinder, nerve regrowth.

This image illustrates how previously injured axons (in red) can grow through a dense astrocyte scar (in green) in the presence of molecules that stimulate growth (in blue).

 

Credit: Dr. Michael V. Sofroniew, UCLA

 

This image is not owned by the NIH. It is shared with the public under license. If you have a question about using or reproducing this image, please contact the creator listed in the credits. All rights to the work remain with the original creator.

 

More information: www.nih.gov/news-events/new-role-identified-scars-site-in...

 

NIH funding from: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

DEMENTIA TABLEAU

 

Suspension Chair

Modified armchair and shower stool. Personal articles left by an elderly female dementia victim compose the imagery of custom designed/ printed upholstery fabric

 

Fragmented Patchwork: Granny Square Composite

Found clothing sewn to crocheted squares of recycled clothing, created in part by community workshop attendees

 

Holding On: A Life Jacket

Altered vintage life jacket, detailed with crocheted thread, nylon, personal mementos and watches

 

Floating

Lambda platinum print encased in acrylic: life-sized, photographic ‘preserved specimen’ from Dementia Tableau Suspension Chair fabric

 

Unanswered

Headphones; audio recordings and sound compositions: Mothers and Daughters, Crossword Alzheimer’s

 

An overstuffed armchair and shower stool/ottoman might offer respite for our dementia or Alzheimer’s sufferer or caretaker. But this seat is ripped open with springs exposed; stuffed with clock and watch parts. Colorful fabric printed with jumbled female clothing— floating nighties, robes, socks —covers this chair, while the cushion on the floor is tethered loosely to the leg by a coiled rope. For, this “seat cushion is also a floatation device.”

 

Life-sized printed photographs of the same clothing covering the chair are encapsulated in acrylic, like specimens in a medical museum. Hovering directly on the wall are shredded garments and kept mementos crocheted into traditional ‘granny squares.’ This is literally and figuratively a fragmented history – the patchwork of an individual mind, a lost generation of craft. Similarly, an uplifted life preserver is offered to keep the patient or caretaker from drowning in dissolving memories, but alas, it is bound and laden with the detritus of the everyday.

 

While Alzheimer’s is a degenerative neurological disease, multi-infarct dementia (MID) is a vascular disorder that can result from depression, chronic drug use, and infections such as HIV; and can cause multiple strokes. Rates of Alzheimer's may be rising due to a growing aging population, but other major contributing factors remain a mystery.

 

What is clear is that women are at the center of this epidemic. A recent study jointly commissioned by the American Alzheimer’s Association and Maria Shriver‘s A Woman’s Nation found that 2/3 of all Alzheimer’s patients are female. This is only part of the story, as most of the 43.5 million Americans providing unpaid care for their relatives are also women.

 

A small tableau element represents hope for a cure, however. Rather than initials, the embroidered monogram on the slippers, “BACE, ” stands for beta secretase enzymes, contributors to the production of the plaques that cause nerve damage in Alzheimer’s. Experimental drugs to block this enzyme (BACE inhibitors) could slow or stop the disease – exciting research that may result in longer, more productive and happy lives.

Bio: www.ninds.nih.gov/find_people/ninds/bio_walter_koroshetz.htm

 

Credit: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

With female runners at a “Charity Run” fundraiser in support of the Society for Care of Neurological Patients, which provides financial assistance for patients with neurological problems.

Amman, Jordan/ Friday, May 30, 2003

 

تشارك في ماراثون من اجل السلام. سباق العشر كيلو مترات الذي نظمته أمانة عمان وجمعية العناية بمرضى الدماغ والأعصاب بمشاركة أكثر من 300 مشارك وذهب ريع الماراثون لصالح مرضى الدماغ والأعصاب.

عمان، الأردن/ 30 أيار 2003

 

© Royal Hashemite Court

The Bethune International Peace Hospital uses stem cell technology to treat rare degenerative neurologic disorders such as ALS (Lou Gerhig's Disease), MS, and Parkinson's disease.

Laboratorio di Neuropsicofisiologia Sperimentale della Fondazione Santa Lucia. Diretto dal Dott. Giacomo Koch.

 

DIRITTI DI UTILIZZO: gratuitamente su ogni tipo di supporto a soli scopi d'informazione relativi alla Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS. Per chiedere autorizzazione ad altri usi, scrivi a: ufficio.stampa@hsantalucia.it.

Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832): Anatomicarum annotationum, 1779

HERMOSA BEACH, CA--Competitive runner, Laura Cattivera, finds a unique way to keep up the pace despite a debilitating medical condition called 'focal dystonia.' She runs backwards. Laura has a passion for running – and nothing is going to stop her. So run Laura, run.

 

After years of medical tests, Laura finally received the diagnosis of focal dystonia in 1995. Focal dystonia is a neurological condition – due to overuse. Laura had to become creative and find new was to run or give up her passion. She choose running backwards.

© Jeffery R. Werner/ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Another view of the tools used by the neurologist.

www.medical-explorer.com/epilepsy.php

Epilepsy (sometimes referred to as a seizure disorder) is a common chronic neurological condition that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures. It affects approximately 50 million people worldwide.It is usually controlled, but not cured, with medication – although surgery may be considered in difficult cases.

  

Laboratorio di Epigenetica e Trasduzione del Segnale della Fondazione Santa Lucia. Diretto dal Dott.ssa Daniela Palacios.

 

DIRITTI DI UTILIZZO: gratuitamente su ogni tipo di supporto a soli scopi d'informazione relativi alla Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS. Per chiedere autorizzazione ad altri usi, scrivi a: ufficio.stampa@hsantalucia.it.

To learn more about St. David's Medical Center please visit www.stdavidsmedicalcenter.com

CDR Wendy Mancuso, Neurology specialty, discusses the program.

 

Laboratorio per lo Studio delle Atassie della Fondazione Santa Lucia. Diretto dal Prof.ssa Maria Leggio.

 

DIRITTI DI UTILIZZO: gratuitamente su ogni tipo di supporto a soli scopi d'informazione relativi alla Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS. Per chiedere autorizzazione ad altri usi, scrivi a: ufficio.stampa@hsantalucia.it.

Laboratorio di Neuroimmagini Funzionali della Fondazione Santa Lucia. Diretto dal Dott. Marco Bozzali.

 

DIRITTI DI UTILIZZO: gratuitamente su ogni tipo di supporto a soli scopi d'informazione relativi alla Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS. Per chiedere autorizzazione ad altri usi, scrivi a: ufficio.stampa@hsantalucia.it.

Laboratorio di Biofilm Microbici della Fondazione Santa Lucia. Diretto dal Prof. Gianfranco Donelli.

 

DIRITTI DI UTILIZZO: gratuitamente su ogni tipo di supporto a soli scopi d'informazione relativi alla Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS. Per chiedere autorizzazione ad altri usi, scrivi a: ufficio.stampa@hsantalucia.it.

I use my art, in any media, to often work through life's issues especially physical pain. Most of the time I am a half-full kind of gal - today has been a black pit day. So I have worked through some issues and released the pain through imagery. I will sleep better now and tomorrow will be brighter! Thank God!!

Neurological researchers