Scientists Extract Images Directly From Brain

[Kyuuketsuki]

This was posted over at the Atheistic Forums:

Scientists Extract Images Directly From Brain
12 Dec 2008

Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have developed new brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor, it was announced on December 11. According to the researchers, further development of the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep.

The scientists were able to reconstruct various images viewed by a person by analyzing changes in their cerebral blood flow. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, the researchers first mapped the blood flow changes that occurred in the cerebral visual cortex as subjects viewed various images held in front of their eyes. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each. While the fMRI machine monitored the changes in brain activity, a computer crunched the data and learned to associate the various changes in brain activity with the different image designs.

Then, when the test subjects were shown a completely new set of images, such as the letters N-E-U-R-O-N, the system was able to reconstruct and display what the test subjects were viewing based solely on their brain activity.

[Read The Rest Of The Article Here]

This is just awesome, I mean granted is a primitive implementation right now but give it time and we'll maybe be able to experience others dreams, perhaps cure diseases that we've never been truly able to deal with for lack of visualisation ... so damned cool!

Kyu

[karadan]

That is absolutely amazing!!!

Not only could this be used to help the psychology of dreams research and possible cures for various diseases, but could also be the precursor to the full understanding of consciousness. Once that happens, we'd be able to digitize consciousness. At which point, the human body would just become a vessel for the mind. We could chop and change bodies whenever we wished...

I've always wondered what it'd be like to have breasts  

[Kyuuketsuki]

Not only could this be used to help the psychology of dreams research and possible cures for various diseases, but could also be the precursor to the full understanding of consciousness. Once that happens, we'd be able to digitize consciousness. At which point, the human body would just become a vessel for the mind. We could chop and change bodies whenever we wished...

I've always wondered what it'd be like to have breasts  

Ahem! I'd be willing to be put in a computer (to be a computer I suppose).

Kyu

[Will]

Baseball... baseball... baseball... baseball... breas....I mean baseball... baseball...  

[DennisK]

Holy shit!  I knew it was theoretically possible, but I never thought we'd be this far along by now.  Amazing and frightening at the same time.

[oldschooldoc]

Don't you just love science! This is a breakthrough that will have major implications in the near (how near, not sure, but near) future. This is exciting news!

[Sophus]

Oh no! The death of the artists!

[dodgecity]

I know someone already said this, but this is absolutely amazing. Kudos to those researchers.

[Wraitchel]

Oh no! The death of the artists!

Are you kidding, Sophus? Artists could work without canvas or other materials...they could just imagine an image and call it art! Seems like I read a sci-fi novel years ago in which that was done....

[curiosityandthecat]

Oh no! The death of the artists!

[Chimera]

Uh...I don't know that I'd want anyone to see what I dream about.  

[BadPoison]

I showed this article to a peace officer I know. He immediately asked "Does this mean that I'll eventually be able to get a search warrant for someone's brain?"

[Kyuuketsuki]

I showed this article to a peace officer I know. He immediately asked "Does this mean that I'll eventually be able to get a search warrant for someone's brain?"

LOL ... in all seriousness though, if the technology matures, I don't see why they won't (let's be honest, rights issues are hardly most government's real agenda).

Kyu

[Martian]

Edit: Wow, what a stupid thing for me to say.

[DennisK]

I showed this article to a peace officer I know. He immediately asked "Does this mean that I'll eventually be able to get a search warrant for someone's brain?"

The day that government starts looking into people's minds is the day that I blow my head off with a shotgun.

Who's to say the government can't already do that?  Or much worse?  Get your finger off the trigger, man.