Science & Technology

Scientists develop mind-reading device

By T.K. Randall
November 1, 2014

Image: Inside My Head
Credit: Andrew Mason / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Scientists at the University of California have succeeded in developing hardware and software capable of picking up the words that you hear in your head when you are thinking or reading.

The system works by picking up the neural activity in the brain associated with speech and translating it back in to words.

It is hoped that the breakthrough will one day offer a way to communicate for people who are otherwise unable to speak."If you're reading text in a newspaper or a book, you hear a voice in your own head," said researcher Brian Pasley. "We're trying to decode the brain activity related to that voice to create a medical prosthesis that can allow someone who is paralyzed or locked in to speak."

The researchers tested the system by applying it to brain activity recordings from patients who were undergoing epilepsy surgery. Each patient was tasked with reading a screen of text while the team attempted to interpret which neurons were reacting to certain aspects of that person's speech.

Despite the technology still being in its early stages the team found that they were able to successfully identify several words from the brain patterns alone.

Source: Russia Today

Tags: Mind Reading