Scientists from the University of Washington have set up a new brain-to-brain communication interface by using an invasive technology. Through this, a person can read anyone’s mind. They can identify what is going in the mind of another.
It uses attentive experiences through signals that were experienced visually. It usually requires two people for brain communication. Scientists held a questionnaire round. The participants transmit their brain signals wirelessly over internet.
Assistant Professor Andrea Stocco said, “This is the most complex brain-to-brain communication experiment.”
Scientists use caps connected with electroencephalography EEG machines to detect electrical activity in the brain. There is a magnetic coil behind the cap.
Scientists used a random combination of an equal number of real and control games. During experiments, participant A, the ‘respondent’, looks at an object on their computer screen. Similarly, the inquirer, participant B’s screen lists potential objects and related questions. The inquirer then answers those questions by selecting yes or no and send them to the respondent. After that, the respondent will stare at one of two lights. Each flashing at different frequencies, to indicate a positive or negative response.
Both answers send a back signal to the inquirer through magnetic coil. But only positive response means yes answer was detectable. Both responses distinct in intensity. Positive answer stimulates the inquirer’s visual cortex. Thus, it shows phospane (a visible flash of light). The inquirer then knows the respondent answered ‘yes’ to their question and the game continues.
Participants have to interpret something they’re seeing with their brains. The light flash is the signal that was kept in the brain. Furthermore, those brain parts does a million other things at any given time too.
Stocco claimed, “We took many steps to make sure that people were not cheating.”
“The results were significant. Inquirer guessed the right object in 72 percent of cases in the real games and 18 percent of the time in the control games. We put incorrect guesses down to inquirer uncertainty about the appearance of a phosphene,” he continued.
Future work for the team includes the transmission of brain states, such as sending signals from a focused student to a student with attention difficulties. Chantel Prat clarified, “Imagine having someone with ADHD and a neurotypical student. When the non-ADHD student will pay attention, then student’s brain gets into a state of greater attention automatically.”
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