--- In [email protected], "whynotnow7" <whynotnow7@...> wrote: > > This was a cool story I saw earlier - not the troll part you > tacked on, but the meat of it. I'd like to know how the > imaging was accomplished, because I noticed what appeared to > be printed letters in the brain wave images. Someone has > probably written a slightly imaginative piece of imaging > software. Nonetheless, the results are impressive, > particularly wrt tracking movement and mass.
Here's a much better article on this study from Wired, with an explanation of how it was done: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-09/23/reconstructingvision Don't know if any of it explains the letters you saw, but it gives a rough idea of what the procedures involved. Also, the study authors have a Web site (linked in the article below) that gives much more detail, although the basic explanation in the Wired article is clearer, at least to me. For the record, here's the link for the article Barry pasted, which he forgot to include: http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2011/09/24/scientists_turn_brain_activity_into_moving_images.html http://tinyurl.com/3wcs4eu > > --- In [email protected], turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > Frustrated that you're so narcissistic and stuck inside your head that > > no one can really relate to you because, after all, they're not lucky > > enough or wise enough or enlightened enough to see the world the way > > that you do? Have no fear...science may soon be able to come to your > > aid. UC Berkeley bio nerds have succeeded in creating rudimentary images > > based on people's brain activity. > > Scientists Turn Brain Activity Into Moving Images UC Berkeley > > researchers tap into technology that may one day allow for re-watching > > your dreams.There are lots of comparisons to be made: DVR for the brain, > > seeing through someone else's eyes, or a real life version of > > "Minority Report." > > > > But whatever you call it, what researchers at UC Berkeley have done > > with new research could have major implications for getting inside > > someone's head. > > > > Authors of a new study published in Current Biology > > <http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2811%2900937-7> > > were able to reconstruct YouTube videos from a subject's brain > > activity with the help of magnetic resonance imaging. In other words, > > study subjects watched videos while their brains were monitored, and > > scientists were later able to reconstruct approximate images of those > > videos from the brain imaging data. > > > > "This is a major leap toward reconstructing internal imagery," > > coauthor and psychology professor Jack Gallant told ABC News > > <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/scientists-youtube-videos-min\ > > d/story?id=14573442> . "We are opening a window into the movies in > > our minds." > > > > Subjects watched a variety of images clips of an airplane, > > elephants walking, text on a screen and Steve Martin in "Inspector > > Clouseau" (really guys? You couldn't have asked for a suggestion > > from the film department on that one?). > > > > Scientists recreated images by mapping tiny changes in blood flow to > > parts of the brain which decode visual images, all while subjects were > > viewing. The results are haunting, ghostly pictures but > > they're also pretty unfocused. In other words, it's going to be > > a long time before you get brainwave movies in full HD. > > > > Worried it won't be long before the future crimes you've > > visualized or those weird dreams about your 9th grade social > > studies teacher will go public? Fear not. As far as > > reconstructing memories for court, the coauthor points out on the > > study's website > > <https://sites.google.com/site/gallantlabucb/publications/nishimoto-et-a\ > > l-2011> : "After all, an accurate read-out of a faulty memory only > > provides misleading information." > > > > > > Gallant also says visual modules exist all over the brain, and that > > researchers will have to build accurate models and mapping capabilities > > before getting further. "We need really big computers," he told > > ABC. For those who wake up wanting to get back to that awesome dream > > where they were flying through a world made of cotton candy and > > inhabited by beautiful people, that may seem like bad news. For others, > > it's probably cause for a sigh of relief. > > > > Here's a video showing some of the original images on the left, and the > > composites created from brain activity on the right: > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjDnYxJ0bo > > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjDnYxJ0bo> > > >
