BSNNP Alumnus Presents "Dancing with Spiders" at NeuroHumanities Network

"As an emerging transdisciplinary field, the neurohumanities explores phenomena at the intersection of the arts, humanities, and neurosciences. Despite a growing interest, no accessible curriculum currently exists for interested trainees in clinical neurology. To address this gap, we launched the Neurohumanities Network (NHN), a virtual, cross-institutional program. NHN offers discussion-based seminars and supports a community of clinicians, artists, humanists, and neuroscientists exploring this field." ~Neurology Green Journal

Dr. Mattia Rosso is a movement disorders fellow at Yale School of Medicine. His clinical interests lie in the intersection of psychiatry, cognitive neurology, and movement disorders and his academic interests include medical education and the neurohumanities. In his residency at the Medical University of South Caroline, he founded a neurohumanities interest group alongside Charlie Palmer, which they ran for three years.

Want to join this upcoming event "Dancing With Spiders" June 18th from 8-9pm Eastern? Register for the online presentation here!

We sat down with presenter, Mattia Rosso and asked him about this presentation and the NeuroHumanities Network which he co-founded...

How did you get interested in this topic?

I became interested in the topic of tarantism while researching dancing plagues. These were epidemics that affected entire cities during the Middle Ages. Tarantism was in many ways an endemic form of a dancing plague, which occurred in Southern Italy (specifically Salento). Tarantism can be viewed as a culture-bound phenomenon in which music was part of the cure.

What did you discover/learn that changed or influenced how you practice or think about neurology?

What is challenging about tarantism is its shared characteristics with both non-pathological cultural manifestations (such as shamanic trance states and raves) and culture-bound disorders (such as Latah and the Jumping Frenchmen of Maine). While it is an expression of the psychological toll that women experienced in a poor and patriarchal society, it also demonstrates the potency of rituals, music, and medicine in overcoming stress. This certainly underscores the importance of understanding the culture of our patients.

What do you hope audiences attending the talk will learn or get excited about?

I hope the audience will appreciate the cultural and historical complexity of the region of Apulia, Italy. I am also looking forward to showcasing the neurohumanistic method, which requires the combined expertise of many fields to study how our brains and minds exist in the world. In the case of tarantism, we will explore how a team of musicologists, anthropologists, social workers, and psychiatrists was necessary to develop a satisfactory formulation of this condition.

Tell me about the NeuroHumanities Network? How did that come into existence?

The Neurohumanities Network is a virtual community of clinicians, neuroscientists, artists, humanists, and patients, which explores the intersection of the arts, humanities, and neuroscience. The group meets through monthly seminars with a talk followed by a discussion, quarterly hands-on practicums, artistic contexts, and other forms of asynchronous engagement through social media. Our group was formed as Galina Gheihman, Charlie Palmer, and I felt the need for a cross-institutional collaboration to showcase this important intersection.

What kind of partners or participation are you looking for to help NHN advance its mission?

We are especially interested in involving humanists, artists, and patients in our endeavors. We believe that the humanities and the arts must be strongly represented in order to solidify neurohumanities as a field. As such, associations, organizations, and groups composed of humanists, artists, and/or patients would be ideal partners.

Briefly, give me a little background on you and your neurological career so far.

I am currently a movement disorders fellow at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), where I will also be pursuing a Master’s in Health Sciences with a focus on Medical Education. I completed my neurology residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where I served as chief resident. During my time at MUSC, I co-founded a Neurohumanities group with Charlie Palmer, which served as a precursor to the NHN. My primary interests in neurology include the phenomenology of movement disorders, the intersection of movement disorders and behavioral neurology, and education in movement disorders.

For the past year, Dr. Rosso has teamed up with Galina Gheihman and Charlie Palmer to found the Neurohumanities Network (NHN). The Neurohumanities Network is a virtual community of clinicians, neuroscientists, artists, humanists, and patients, which explores the intersection of the arts, humanities, and neuroscience. The group meets through monthly seminars with a talk followed by a discussion, quarterly hands-on practicums, artistic contexts, and other forms of asynchronous engagement through social media. 

You can join the Neurohumanities Network newsletter here – https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/BN47lNE/signup

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