Quote :

"In a world first, a team of researchers has developed technology to map brain activity when objects are viewed, and transmit images from the viewer's brain onto a computer screen. The achievement was made by a team including researchers from the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) in Kyoto. At present only simple symbols and letters can be reproduced, but there are reportedly hopes that in the future dreams could be turned into images. The research was due to be announced in the U.S. science journal "Neuron" on Thursday. Visual information is processed in the visual cortex at the rear of the brain in humans. Depending on what is viewed, the pattern of activity in the visual cortex differs slightly. ATR researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani and others on the team divided vision up into a grid of 100 squares, estimated the brightness of each square from brain activity patterns, and developed a method to reproduce this in black and white. At first, subjects in the study were shown 440 types of images with the squares having various levels of brightness, and changes in the blood flow in the visual cortex when they viewed each image were measured through a process called functional magnetic resonance imaging. This data was used to "train" a computer. Next, when the subjects were shown squares, x marks, letters of the alphabet and other pictures, the images were able to be reproduced near perfect on a computer screen, although they were not sharp. Six subjects took part in the experiment and the process was reportedly successful with all of them. In some of the cases, the process could differentiate between red and green, and there were also cases in which images could be reproduced if the subjects simply imaged them in their minds without being shown anything. "For people whose communication is limited due to physical disabilities or other factors, we will be able to supply a new method to express their will," Kamitani said. "

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20081212p2a00m0na002000c.html

12/12/2008 9:26:26 AM

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

12/12/2008 9:30:08 AM

Skynet is becoming aware.

12/12/2008 9:31:30 AM

Quote :

"in the future dreams could be turned into images."

Oh man, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS!!!!

I hope it becomes a reality before I die, even if I can experience for a day before my death.

People's dreams on a screen... they would make the most amazing sci-fi and fantasy movies. And just being able to wake up in the morning and watch your dreams on your laptop....

KNOCKOUT!

12/12/2008 9:48:19 AM

like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within!

12/12/2008 10:03:23 AM

Pics or it didn't happen.

12/12/2008 10:05:21 AM

lucid dream + ability to record =

12/12/2008 10:11:20 AM

This thread is useless without brain generated pics

12/12/2008 10:32:05 AM

Who's going to want to sleep in an MRI machine?

They need portable fMRI machines.

12/12/2008 10:34:11 AM

Quote :

"This thread is useless without brain generated pics"

They already exist

12/12/2008 10:51:29 AM

you guys know dreams only last like 3 seconds right?

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

12/12/2008 11:27:58 AM