Researchers have also, to a lesser extent, experimented with translating information from the computer to the brain, using brain stimulating tools such
as TMS — variations of which have also been used to
treat depression — and transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS), which has been used to link the brains
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of rats. The Starlab experiment integrates two of
these existing technologies to move a message from
one brain to another, via computer. The experiment
was set up like this: While hooked up to an EEG de-
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vice, the sender was asked to imagine moving his
Adarsh Chaudhary
hands or feet when shown an image that represented
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a 1 or 0, respectively. The EEG data was transmitted
Asmita Pal
to the computer, translated into binary code, and
emailed to the system at the recipients' end. The recipients, blindfolded, received electric pulses from the
robotized TMS system in the visual cortex of their
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Mudit Saxena
Pragya Pandey
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brains. That triggered the experience of phosphenes:
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the perception of seeing flashes of light that are not
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actually there. The recipients reported verbally when
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they experienced a flash, and this was translated into
binary code and then to the message. It' s super slow
— the equivalent of telepathic Morse code. Still, the
message was delivered.
It's a fun experiment, and it's exciting to think about
potential applications, like soldiers with high-tech
helmets communicating silently behind enemy lines.
Future experiments will no doubt help us define
what "brain-to-brain interface" really means. In the
meantime, we'll have to squabble over the few experiments under our belts.
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Vishal Sharma