(May 18, 2011) While currently in the realm of sci-fi
fantasy, the ability to read people’s minds has taken a step closer to reality
thanks to neuroscientists at the University of Glasgow.
Researchers at the Institute of
Neuroscience & Psychology have been able to identify the type of
information contained within certain brainwaves related to vision.
Brainwaves – the patterns of
electrical activity created in the brain when it is engaged in different
activities – can easily be measured using electroencephalography (EEG).
However, knowing exactly what
information is encoded within them, and how that encoding takes place, is a
mystery.
Professor Philippe Schyns,
Director of the Institute of Neurosciences & Psychology and the Centre for
Cognitive Neuroimaging, who led the pioneering study, said: “It’s a bit like
unlocking a scrambled television channel. Before, we could detect the signal
but couldn’t watch the content; now we can.