Scientists Have Successfully Achieved A Brain-to-Brain Link Between Two Humans
A study conducted by the University of Washington had a goal in mind to make communicating thought that might not otherwise be easily translated. Thoughts such as precise motor movements for example. How can you share that with someone else? Well, in the research they were able to find a solution that works 72% of the time.
In the experiment, participants are asked to play a "20 question"-style game.
Andrea Stocco, assistant professor of psychology and researcher at UW’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, stated: "We wanted to show that this brain-to-brain interface can be used to do something highly interactive and collaborative."
The function of the experiment involves two people sitting in separate buildings. One person is wearing a cap connected to an electroencephalography machine, recording brain activity.
The respondent (above) is asked to think of an object, just like in 20-questions.
Next the inquirer chooses questions to send the respondent via the internet–which are answered "yes" or "no." The answers send a magnetic signal through to the inquirer's cap, but only the "yes" has enough stimuli.
Participants, as mentioned before, we able to guess the correct object 72% of the time. This study is ongoing from a 2011 beginning, which came from a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to pursue brain-to-brain interfaces.
Stocco hopes that someday more complicated information can be transferred between the brains. This could be in the form of nonverbal cues of emotions, or from a sleepy person to an alert one.
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He even gives the example of the potential for an ADHD student struggling to focus, syncing up with a more "neurotypical" student in class. Imagine the possibilities for education!
"Person-to-person transfer is a long way off, but you would be amazed by the progress" says Stocco. Nobody has been able to transfer brain activity like this until now.
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