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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Linking up brains. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Researchers at the University of Southampton in England have transmitted a simple code from the mind of one person to the brain of another. But it’s a far cry from telepathy. Biomedical engineer Christopher James says it involves two people with brainwave detectors hooked up to computers. Person A imagines a series of movements, involving either his left or right arm, for example.
CHRISTOPHER JAMES (University of Southampton):
And that will give us two different types of brain recordings, which we can use to create, if you like, a binary pattern: a zero or a one.
HIRSHON:
That’s converted into a pattern of flashing lights on Person B’s computer. Although Person B can’t consciously figure out the pattern, her brain responds to it – in a way that matches up to the binary code. This line of research could eventually help completely paralyzed people convey their thoughts to others. I’m Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the Science Society.