Balloons, tails and bubbles: depicting speech and thought out of the brain and into the clinic.

Illustrations of the internal workings of the brain often depict arrows. In contrast, many illustrations which depict the link between certain brain functions and the outside world harness a graphic technique more usually associated with forms of popular culture such as comics. This technique comprises a balloon containing an image or message linked either by a tail emanating from the mouth when representing speech, or by a stream of bubbles emanating from the head when representing thought. Although a pictorial speech device first appeared over two millennia ago, balloons with their linkages now have various important practical clinical applications, notably in autism spectrum disorders, profound deafness in children without neurocognitive impairment, and sexual health education.

The Rückenfigur: A Note on an Intriguing Rear-View Pictorial Device.

The Rückenfigur, a rear-view depiction of a person, is an artistic device which dates back several centuries but became particularly prominent in 19th century in Germany. The adoption of the rear-view presents an intriguing challenge, since the viewer must engage with a figure which sees without visible eyes. Considered here are some of the perceptual issues which arise from this unusual pictorial device.

Colored illustrations of the brain: some conceptual and contextual issues.

Illustrations of the brain are increasingly often colored, both on depictions of brain structure and on displays representing brain function. As in many other areas of science, illustrations may have considerable influence on how neuroscientific concepts are envisaged and presented, and color being such a dominant feature of many illustrations of the brain, the rationale, methodology, and implications of using color merit exploration. The different ways of harnessing color depending on whether brain structure or function is being illustrated; the selection of particular colors and color scale; the advantages and disadvantages of color compared to black and white, including the detection of just noticeable differences in the display; the consequences of incorporating color and the attribution of importance; and also the contribution and perceptions of the viewer raise important issues. Consideration of these and a number of related issues, including the wider context of color in illustration, leads to the conclusion that the addition of color represents a powerful and at times unrivalled technique that can be employed in the study of the brain, yet adding color is sometimes ill considered and can prove superfluous, ambiguous, or misleading.

The cartography of pain: the evolving contribution of pain maps.

Pain maps are nowadays widely used in clinical practice. This article aims to critically review the fundamental principles that underlie the mapping of pain, to analyse the evolving iconography of pain maps and their sometimes straightforward and sometimes contentious nature when used in the clinic, and to draw attention to some more recent developments in mapping pain. It is concluded that these maps are intriguing and evolving cartographic tools which can be used for depicting not only the spatial features but also the interpretative or perceptual components and accompaniments of pain.