UW Researchers Demonstrate First Direct Communication Between Human Brains

An anonymous reader writes "Opening a fascinating set of ethical and legal issues, researchers at UW Seattle have demonstrated the first device to allow direct communication between two humans' brains. Effectively, they allowed a subject to play a video game with another subject's fingers. For now, the communication is uni-directional, though they intend to extend it to bi-directional. EEG sensors are attached to a subject's motor cortex to detect 'motor imagery' — imagined hand movement, in this case. That activity is translated and sent over a computer network where it triggers a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator (TMS) located over Subject 2's motor cortex. Effectively, Subject 1 imagines moving their hand, and Subject 2's hand moved."

Comments

Re:Misleading...

[i kan reed]

And using a telephone isn't contacting someone directly? Even as far as pedantry goes, that's pretty pedantic.

Re:Not that impressive

[geekoid]

Person ignorant of the science and engineering uses his ignorance to declare it isn't impressive.

Learn to think.

Hint: It's as impressive as hell.

It's only creepy if you speculate.

[Remus Shepherd]

Okay, let's just speculate about all the ways this could be misused:

*-- Vending machines that make you reach into your pocket and pull out money whenever you pass by them.

*-- Rich handicapped people buying time on poor people's bodies.

*-- Rich people buying time on poor people's bodies, in order to do criminal things.

*-- Police officers with a 'lay down with your hands behind your back' raygun.

I'm sure I missed a few, any suggestions?