Mike Andrew Consulting

Upload your thoughts to Youtube

By mike, Sep 26 in blog with 0 comments

Picture in your mind a happy scene from your past and then imagine being able to record it – maybe even upload it to YouTube.

It is still a distant possibility, but researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a system which can scan your mind and create a visual reconstruction of your thoughts.

They hope that eventually the breakthrough could lead to helping stroke victims, coma patients and people with neurodegenerative diseases.

‘This is a major leap toward reconstructing internal imagery,’ said Professor Jack Gallant, a UC Berkeley neuroscientist and co-author of the study.

‘We are opening a window into the movies in our minds.’

The technology uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure blood flow to certain areas of the brain used to visualise certain shapes in our minds.

The software creates a reconstruction of a person’s thoughts.

Researchers fed 18 million seconds of random YouTube videos into a computer programme which predicted the type of brain activity it was likely to provoke.

The software would then measure the real brain waves of participants, matching those to the predictions.

The programme goes on to gather a selection of clips, which it believes match the brainwaves most closely, producing a composite video to complete the reconstruction.

The resulting images are far from high-definition – visualisations of a scene involving actor Steve Martin show a blurry, unrecognisable outline – but researchers believe it is an important first step.

‘We need to know how the brain works in naturalistic conditions,’ said Shinji Nishimoto, lead author of the study.

The software monitors blood flow to certain key areas of the brain

‘For that, we need to first understand how the brain works while we are watching movies.’

The developments have been welcomed by Dr Sharlin Ahmed, research liaison officer at The Stroke Association.

‘Around a third of people who have a stroke are left with communication difficulties, which can leave many stroke survivors feeling incredibly isolated and frustrated,’ she said.

‘It can also be extremely tough for their families who often find it hard to understand how their loved one is feeling.

‘We are always looking for new ways to better understand the needs of stroke survivors, especially those who find it hard to communicate.

‘Using brain imaging technology to interpret what a stroke survivor might be thinking is a very interesting concept, however it’s likely to be a long time before anything like this is used in practise.’

The researchers have reassured those worried about an Orwellian intrusion into their inner thoughts that there is no need to panic – the technique requires participants to spend hours upon hours in an MRI scanner.

Source: www.bigpond.com

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.