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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."
...bring on the Kaiju, ultimate dutch rudder, we need a young priest and an old priest... ...did I miss any obvious ones?
to the "Stop Hitting Yourself" game.
there was a rat under a chef's hat, right?
And using a telephone isn't contacting someone directly? Even as far as pedantry goes, that's pretty pedantic.
of inet pr0n!
Subject 1 imagines moving their hand, and Subject 2's hand moved.
I think I saw this premise in an adult movie once
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Next time I murder a dude I am total using this as my defense. "But your honor its science, you can't argue with science otherwise you would have to toss all the blood evidence" Yeah, they don't let me talk in court anymore...
If someone tries to kill you, you try and kill them right back
Phew good thing that article a few hours back has us covered.
until people discover they can send those signals without the computer inbetween! Just a matter of sending the proper signal to the proper antenna.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator -- Hmmmmm, I will wait a few more days.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Have you considered the very real posibility that brain may not have proper mandatory authorization and intput verification and anyone with local access can say stop your heart?
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion. -- Spazmania (174582)
Sally: Mom, Bobby is moving my hand, tell him to stop.
Bobby: I'm not moving it.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Threat of gun. Actual use of the gun as a communication tool only leaves you with goose feathers and meat, no more golden eggs.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
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.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The first thing I thought, "what could possibly go wrong?"
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I thought it was you, just trying out a new body!
Can they record and save the impulse patterns? I can see it now - just pop on my brain-stimulating hat, hit play, and I can finally Dougie!
Everything is better with chainsaws.
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?
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Nope. We're still stuck with the regular level of telepathy. Still, it comes in useful when playing poker.
Resistance is futile...........
I would have a sig but I am too busy updating programs and restarting my computer
Would this help people with locked-in syndrome? Would they be able to use someone else's hand to act? to communicate?
Which one of the two people would have to have Parkinson's to make the resulting hand movements irregular?
Etc., Etc.
-- hendrik
You know those magnets that can shut down a portion of your brain if you put the plate right against your skull?
This explains those people walking down the street wearing headphones.
Have gnu, will travel.
What about emotions or perhaps even thoughts?
Will it be possible?
Couples in long distance relationships eagerly await the results.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Threat of gun. Actual use of the gun as a communication tool only leaves you with goose feathers and meat, no more golden eggs.
Except that the remaining geese are more compliant to having their golden eggs taken.
You'd think so. I wonder what would happen were that tested en masse.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
... well, they sure do now.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
FTFA: "Stocco said years from now the technology could be used, for example, by someone on the ground to help a flight attendant or passenger land an airplane if the pilot becomes incapacitated."
Or, you know, use fly-by-wire. A normal computer-to-computer interface is sufficient here, and already exists and is in widespread use.
One step closer...
Mwahahahahahaha
Prof. Farnsworth - "Oh a lesson in not changing history from Mr I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!"
What's next, line dancing?
Yes, because the magnetic fields emitted by a cell phone are in any way comparable to those used by TMS...
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Do it enough times and you'll start finding out just how many of those goose also have guns.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Yes but once the computer can record the signals and replay them without the controlling human this could get interesting
Your'e all thinking it, I just said it for you
In other words: we were already able to trigger motor impulses externally, and we were already able to record and decode the neural signatures of sufficiently different thoughts. What they did here has huge media value, but it isn't particularly ground breaking. Even TFA states this:
The technologies used by the researchers for recording and stimulating the brain are both well-known.
...clearly, this has MAJOR applications for the porn industry.
Holy smokes.
-Styopa
...Computers hack into YOU!
All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
This space unintentionally left blank.
Could this be used by an expert to teach somebody something physical and reinforce their muscle memory? IE some physical skill like playing guitar could be taught - at least the physical practice part - by using this?
what about general physical therapy?
This sounds totally wicked.
For real, so much of this brain research stuff it scary as heck to me. Even the so called ethical uses seem pretty creepy.
There was another research piece where they could associate negative or positive emotions with memories artificially. Some genius though it might be a way to fight PTSD, except I think he kind of overlooked the possible side effect associating positive emotions with death and carnage.
.... raise my right hand.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Now it could be possible to control an Avatar ? I really don't like the way this is going. We are losing our privacy. Now in a few generations even our thoughts won't be private ? I am all for learning how to build bionic limbs and controlling them... but mind an actual link from one brain to another individuals brain or cortex ? NO THANKS.
Okay... what they did was put a big fire under a balloon with some guys in in. Then they aimed the balloon up at something. Then they just had to time the lighting of the fire... and bam "moon landing".
Why did the Ren 'n Stimpy Happy Helmet just jump into my thoughts?
Oh no...
Definitely. Brute force attempts can often result in the person's brain being bricked. And that will definitely stop their heart.
If you want to stop someone's heart there are much cheaper ways. However, this may be the first one that works over the internet.
Could this be an effective path to "teaching" muscle memory quickly with an experienced subject sharing to an inexperienced one? Wanna play guitar? Let's hook up and I'll get you through the awkwardness of some basic chord changes quickly........
If the impulses for an action came from external source instead of a persons own brain would there be a "memory" effect? How far up or down the neural pathway would it have to trigger the action for "memory" of any sort? If the subject is experiencing the action wouldn't that add some "memory" reinforcement?
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
I predict that this will advance the science of cyberdildonics to the max. I can see all sorts of uses for this type of thing.
I thought "wow, cool, I need to see that video," then realized it would be a video of someone watching someone else play a video game. How could I tell who's controlling the hands?
Whew, time waste avoided.
(Still, cool.)
What if you "recorded" someone having a heart attack and then dying, them played that back over the interface? I don't think this device works on that level though, or else the receiver's heart and other automatic functions might have an issue...they might even sync up, or just freak out and beat twice as fast with a weird rhythm. It probably depends on where and what they are recording, and how close they are to the particular nerve bundle carrying those signals.
Have you considered the very real posibility that brain may not have proper mandatory authorization and intput verification and anyone with local access can say stop your heart?
Now I have. I'm pretty sure that anyone with local access can't stop the heart. I've never heard of anyone being consciously able to stop their own heart or even temporarily stall it like one can hold ones breath.
If I were to guess I would say that the heart signal works on a hard-coded enough level to make it mentally impossible to stop.
Now, holding the breath for someone else could be a fun experiment.
Dude.
1. I have seen demonstrations of these brain disrupting magnets before. A guy puts it against specific parts of a person's skull and he gets a response. Typically disrupting or even enhancing certain brain function.
2. I have seen the sensors before. I think I saw someone control a wheel chair with nothing but one of those devices. Vastly more impressive then the above demonstration.
All they did was connect point 1 to point 2. The magnet was fixed in the portion of the skull that would get the desired result and then all they had to do was get the computer to trigger the subroutine to activate it.
The most impressive bit is the sensor reading that signal from the guy triggering the command. The effect translating into motor function in the second man is not that impressive. You could have as easily wired the guy up to a generic electrical shock and gotten a very similar reaction.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
You've been watching (or thinking of) Brainstorm .
They used to say that you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.
Now you can. With your friend's own hand.
So we now have laboratory mind control? /golfclap
Christians have been doing this for 2000 years now. It may be lowtech but it's definitely mind control.
So NOW is anybody working on a software framework for a 5-senses UI to go with the coming datajacks?
Every trollism an AC posts is prefixed, in my mind, with "A. Coward whined, in a weak and cowardly voice:"
The assumption there is that these methods don't bypass whatever control we have against stopping our own heart. there is no reason that we would have evolved properly gated defense in depth type systems. think how open the early internet was, i would be the brain will be much more like that when we first start connecting them. And evolution isn't quick. we will have to build the security into the interface and hope your interface vendor is legit.