Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


0

Mind-Reading Edges Closer to Reality

New computer can determine what you're looking at

Share

(Newser) – Mind-reading has taken a step toward possibility with a new computer that can decode brain activity to determine what a person is looking at with up to 90% accuracy, the Independent reports. With improvements, the technology could be able to reconstruct any image a person could conjure up—and someday, their very thoughts and dreams, said the lead researcher of the experiments detailed in the journal Nature.

The computer successfully "decoded" brain activity revealed on a medical scanner and matched it to photographs of what a subject had seen. The experiment opens a world of possibilities, but it could also lead to "serious ethical and privacy implications," said the top scientist. "It's something I do care about."

"The image identification problem is analogous to the classic magician's trick, 'pick a card, any card'", a scientist explaimed. "In this trick, the magician fans a deck of cards and asks you to pick...   ((c) Heo2035)
Researchers examining these brain scans could tell which patients were lying and which were telling the truth. Leaps forward in brain-scanning technology mean a computer can now tell what you are looking at with up to 90% accuracy, and scientists say the technology could someday even be used to know...
Researchers examining these brain scans could tell which patients were lying and which were telling the truth. Leaps forward in brain-scanning technology mean a computer can now tell what you are looking...   (KRT Photos)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

43 Stories

 New Brain Cells 
 Bump Old Memories 

Study finds new neurons clear out short-term memory

Nov 13, 09 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) - The birth of new brain cells bumps old memories into long-term storage, according to new research which upends earlier theories. Researchers working with rodents found that the creation of new neurons destabilized existing connections in the hippocampus instead of strengthening them as they had expected, effectively "clearing the inbox"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
memory • brain • neuroscience • neurons • short-term memory • hippocampus

Your Brain Has
a Neuron Just for Tom Cruise

...and another for every celeb you recognize, study finds

Oct 9, 09 11:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - You have a neuron in your brain devoted entirely to recognizing Tom Cruise. Another specializes in Barack Obama, yet another LeBron James, and, yes, Jon and Kate are taking up two. By studying a decade worth of brain activity, researchers have discovered a series of cells that act like celebrity... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Tom Cruise • LeBron James • brain • neurology • neurons • Jon Gosselin • Kate Gosselin • celebrities

CIA Interrogations Caused Brain Damage: Scientist

Harsh techniques damaged subject's facility for recall

Sep 21, 09 3:26 PM CDT
(AP) - The CIA's harsh interrogations are likely to have damaged the brains of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to recall and provide the detailed information the spy agency sought, according to a new scientific paper. The paper scrutinizes the techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration through the lens... More »

MORE ABOUT:
CIA • memory • brain • brain damage • neuroscience • sleep deprivation • waterboarding • enhanced interrogation techniques

43 Stories


Scientists say brain scanner far exceeded their expectations
Wired

Potential applications both exciting and terrifying
Guardian (UK)


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
brain • research • mind • neuroscience • neurology • neuroimaging • fMRI

from our news partners