Date of Award

Spring 5-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy

Abstract

Quantitative electroencephalograph (QEEG) reports of 14 healthy women participants engaged in art making in response to two general art therapy directives were generated and compared at Eastern Virginia Medical School. A Cadwell Easy-II 32-channel digital EEG and Physiometrx E-net which contains placements according to the International 10-20 system were used to collect brainwave activity. This study explored the effects of clay sculpting and marker drawing conditions on neural activity in the right and left frontal and parietal cortices.

One aim of the study was to illuminate what Lusebrink (1990) suggested - that different types of media and processes elicit different responses emotionally, physically, and behaviorally - using EEG reports of brain activity. The findings did indicate some differences between clay sculpting and drawing with markers. Specifically, delta-wave activity was elevated in the frontal lobes during the Clay condition; theta-wave voltage was generally elevated during the Clay condition irrespective of electrode location; alpha-wave voltage decreased in general from Eyes Open to Clay and Drawing and was associated, specifically, to the right parietal electrode location (P4); and, lastly, gamma-wave activity was elevated at both frontal electrode placements during the Movement condition, then decreased at the F4 electrode placement during the Clay condition, and also was elevated at the P4 site during the Clay and the Drawing conditions. There seems to be a shift in response to the particular art task. The scores of pre- and post-recording state anxiety inventories were analyzed to show a decrease in anxiety levels over the course of the QEEG procedure.

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