chemical play
2010. 8'x16'. G-protein coupled receptor forms. Insulation board, concrete, astroturf, golf balls, bricks, putter.
The brain is an electro-chemical organ, running largely on the interplay of neurotransmitters and their interactions with cellular structures. For medicinal or recreational use, drugs interact with existing cellular architectures, hijacking what nature provided in order to change a person's natural chemical balance. While certain drugs have relatively consistent effects on the brain across populations, others vary greatly by individual, and the science behind this variation, as well as particular functional mechanisms a drug may have, is unknown. This phenomenon is best described in the strange, ironic reality that taking an antidepressant like an SSRI - a drug that inhibits the immediate recycling of free floating serotonin - can increase the risk of suicide.
When playing the chemical game with the brain, we are directly influencing the activity of G-protein-coupled receptors, which are cellular membrane-bound proteins that interact with extracellular chemicals. When bound with a neurotransmitter, this chemical interaction initiates a signal cascade resulting in cellular change or change in gene expression.
The brain is an electro-chemical organ, running largely on the interplay of neurotransmitters and their interactions with cellular structures. For medicinal or recreational use, drugs interact with existing cellular architectures, hijacking what nature provided in order to change a person's natural chemical balance. While certain drugs have relatively consistent effects on the brain across populations, others vary greatly by individual, and the science behind this variation, as well as particular functional mechanisms a drug may have, is unknown. This phenomenon is best described in the strange, ironic reality that taking an antidepressant like an SSRI - a drug that inhibits the immediate recycling of free floating serotonin - can increase the risk of suicide.
When playing the chemical game with the brain, we are directly influencing the activity of G-protein-coupled receptors, which are cellular membrane-bound proteins that interact with extracellular chemicals. When bound with a neurotransmitter, this chemical interaction initiates a signal cascade resulting in cellular change or change in gene expression.
All images © Julia Buntaine Hoel
