The brains of three people were connected, allowing them to share thoughts

The researchers, through a direct brain-to-brain interface, successfully connected the brains of three people, enabling them to share their thoughts and play Tetris together. Researchers say this experiment can be scaled and connect hundreds of people together.

Placing thoughts directly into someone’s mozgu may seem like an idea straight out of science fiction literature, but after recent experiments conducted by scientistow of the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University, this vision seems to be getting closer to reality.

The interface developed by the researchers enabled three people to coocooperation and cooperationolne solving tasks through direct communication mozg-mozg. In an experiment to test the functioning of the interface, participants were instructed to participate in a game similar to Tetris.

The results of the experiment and a description of the study have been published in the preprint databaseoIn arXiv.

In earlier work, the same teamo³ ³ scientistow has demonstrated a system thatory allowed dwom people communicate using m wavesozg. The experiments also involved playing video games. It was the first direct interface mozg-mozg. In a recent composite studyoł scientistow joined not two, but three people.

– In 2013, we demonstrated the first interface mozg-mozg for direct communication and wspohe cooperation between two human mozgami. The question thatore unanswered question was whether it was possible to create a "social network" more than twooch mozgoin wspoł working together to solve a task, whichorego that none of the individual mozgow. This is the first demonstration of the concept of this idea – said Rajesh Rao of the University of Washington, one of the authors of theow research.

„We present BrainNet, whichory, to our knowledge, is the first multi-person, non-invasive, direct interface mozg-mozg to wspolnego problem solvingow” – wrote the study authors in the introduction to the publication. The interface combines electroencephalography (EEG) to record pulseow electric mozg and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), where neurons are stimulated using pol magnetic, in order to non-invasively deliver information to mozgu.

Scientists responsible for the BrainNet system say it could eventually be used to connect multiple rotive mindow, even to create their network. But BrainNet can r usoalso teach more about the way the human mozg.

In an experiment prepared by scientistsoin dwoch „senderow” were connected to EEG electrodes to detect and record their wave patterns mozg – patterns of electrical activity mofromgu. Third participant – „recipient” – was equipped with electrodes, whichore enabled it to receive and read m wavesozg from the dwoch „sendersow” using the TMS technique.

These individuals were asked to play a Tetris-like game to. The game consists of appropriate shape matchingoin falling blockow, by using the rotation and movement of the blocksohorizontally so that they formed a full row across the width of the board, woAt the time this line is removed. During the experiment, participants had to decide whether a falling block should be obrocony, or non.

All three participants observed the game, although they were responsible for making movementoIn responsible was „recipient”. „Recipient” was deprived of a view of the bottom of the board and had to rely on information sent to it by the „sendercow”, using the BrainNet system. In addition, the game was slightly simplified and players only had to decide whether to defend the bees or notocate the shape by 180 degrees, or not rotate the.

The signals mozgowe „shippers” were decoded using real-time analysis of EEG data to extract decisions about whether to obroblock in the game. While the decision whether to rotate or not was communicated by staring at two flashing LEDs – one flashed at 15 Hz and the other at 17 Hz – both produced rotive signals in mozgu, ktore EEG mohead to receive. The decision was delivered through magnetic stimulation to the visual cortex „recipients” and manifested through the sensation of a flash of light called phosphenes. Phosphenes, or entoptic phenomena, are phantom visual impressions thatosourcesodle is the nervous system.

In five rotional groups of three, the researchers achieved an average accuracy rate of 81.25 percent, a decent result for a first approach.

In the next round, the experimentoIn the researchers added a new level of complexity to the. „Broadcasters” were able to get feedback indicating whether the recipient had made the right decision. „Recipient” in turn mogł detect whichory with sendercow was the most reliable based on the communication itself mozgowa.

– Interfaces mozg-mozg could change the wayob how people communicate and wspoThey cooperate with each other. They have roalso have the potential to shed new light on how theob human action mozg and pomoc restoreocialize the function of u osob with neurological diseases – emphasized Rao.