Japanese researchers create images from thoughts using thoughts about images

A team of Japanese scientists at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, led by researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani, have successfully processed and displayed reconstructed images directly from the ever-hackable human brain. In the experiments, the team first showed participants 400 different still images in order to suss out their visual thought patterns. They then showed them the letters that make up the word "neuron," and successfully reconstructed them via brain activity onto a screen. The full results of the tests are going to be published later this month in Neuron, but Dr. F. Krueger at ATR says that they think the tech could someday be used to hack into people's dreams.

[Via Register Hardware]

Read - Dreams may no longer be secret with Japan computer screen
Read - Your dreams, images can be!

[Patrick @ Dec 11th 2008 6:33PM]

I call shenanigans.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 11th 2008 6:42PM]

I've got their number.
Someone gave it to me in a post from the last couple of days.

[Kris120890 @ Dec 11th 2008 6:48PM]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/09/scea-confirms-that-playstation-home-launch-coming-this-month-in/
Bottom of the page.
You're welcome.

[dg @ Dec 11th 2008 9:34PM]

I call blind people don't exist in 20 years.

[aschmack @ Dec 11th 2008 11:05PM]

http://i38.tinypic.com/9rm4o4.jpg

[Chizzed @ Dec 11th 2008 11:29PM]

There are some dreams that just shouldn't be hacked...

[Nortslrper @ Dec 12th 2008 1:51AM]

Number? Check this number:

U.S. Patent No. 3,951,134

[ctbear @ Dec 11th 2008 6:33PM]

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.

[andres @ Dec 11th 2008 8:40PM]

coming to a theater near you.

[Evan @ Dec 11th 2008 6:37PM]

What a title...

[mvp @ Dec 11th 2008 7:12PM]

Yeah, did Yoda write the second title of the read links?

[blore40 @ Dec 12th 2008 11:13AM]

@mvp: Japanese is Yoda?

[mvp @ Dec 12th 2008 3:14PM]

...No its the sentence structure they used, backwards and jumbled it is.

[who? @ Dec 11th 2008 6:42PM]

When this comes to fruition, I'll make a bundle by providing therapy for these guilt-ridden scientists. They and the guys from the Manhattan Project are going to have a blast!

[Fruition @ Dec 11th 2008 8:28PM]

Why would it come to me? Should I be scared?

[KRIS_C_123 @ Dec 11th 2008 8:40PM]

HA^^ funnyness

[CVMagic @ Dec 11th 2008 6:42PM]

If this is true it's simply amazing, more so not just for reading into dreams but rather to import images directly into the human mind once we know how the images are formed who knows. But something bothers me with the image above, if you look at the two n's they seem to be very very similar to each other more so than I'd imagine our 'analog' minds would produce instead I would have liked to see much more static and variations in the letters above.

[The Joker @ Dec 11th 2008 6:45PM]

Oh good, the ultimate invasion of privacy. No that's just ... just... great, really.

(don't think boobies, don't think boobies, don't think boobies, .... BOOBIES. Drat!)

[BJ is Gooder @ Dec 11th 2008 6:58PM]

Test subjects were shown the letters that form the word neuron. This being the case, I doubt there would be a need to show them the letter 'N' twice.

[The Joker @ Dec 11th 2008 7:00PM]

Good catch. Seems fishy. Maybe just a fluke.

[sjdurfey @ Dec 11th 2008 7:13PM]

they were gathering the data as the letters were being processed, so they would. it wasnt trying to reconstruct your thoughts but rather the image processing in the Visual Cortex of your brain.

[Chuckles McGee @ Dec 11th 2008 8:04PM]

A large component of neuronal signaling is digital- neurons either fire (at a single intensity, a '1') or they don't, a '0'. I'd expect more of the noise here to be due to the scanning environment than actual neural activity.

[Ray @ Dec 11th 2008 8:21PM]

Never really thought about our minds being analog, i guess it makes sense interms of reading signals...

Still, WOOT for dream playback in HD!

[KRIS_C_123 @ Dec 11th 2008 8:38PM]

where are you getting the N's from??

all i see is adverts for Viagra, im only 17 but you can never get enough viagra

[sjdurfey @ Dec 11th 2008 8:50PM]

how in the world are you getting a Viagra advert from a fuzzy letter 'n'?

[Oligodendricyte @ Dec 11th 2008 9:04PM]

Hey CV...

You'd be suprised to know that our brain's are actually digital.

No joke. Action potentials act in such away that if they do not meet a cetain threshold for membrane potential, they do not fire. There's no graded (analog) response. It's either all go (on/1) or all not at all (off/0).

Now this "digital" concept only holds its own in terms of neuronal machinary. The actual neuronal CIRCUITRY is none like any computer on earth. Think parallel process running in tandem millions of times over. It's quite impressive, actually.

So on one hand, yes our neurons do act in a digital manner, but on the other hand our exhibited behavior due to these digital inputs is quite far from robotic.

Interesting reads if you care to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_C._Tolman - This guy has done AMAZING work to revolutionize the way we look at neurons.

[Fubar @ Dec 11th 2008 9:29PM]

@Chuckles, Oligo--

Firing vs. not firing is binary.

Firing *rates* are not binary.

There are surprisingly few circuits in the mammalian CNS or PNS which have been shown to encode meaningful information in single action potentials. In other words, it's all about the firing rate.

[Decoy @ Dec 11th 2008 6:42PM]

I only dream in black and white.

[Felix Fdot @ Dec 11th 2008 7:08PM]

so you're probably over 55.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/3353504/Black-and-white-TV-generation-have-monochrome-dreams.html

[Decoy @ Dec 11th 2008 9:07PM]

You're probably too young to have heard much Iron Maiden.

[benstanton @ Dec 12th 2008 1:42AM]

Black and white dreams will be easier to hack, wet dreams on the other hand . . . probably too fast to catch.

[noodlz @ Dec 11th 2008 6:44PM]

Let me know when it's Tony Romo's turn.

[napsterking @ Dec 11th 2008 7:32PM]

WHAT R U IMPLYING!!!!!!! >:(

[Nick J @ Dec 11th 2008 6:47PM]

If this ever comes to pass, then I shall be forced to fall asleep while thinking about doing my enemy's mom. That'll teach em to hack MY dreams.

[TheHAWKs @ Dec 11th 2008 6:49PM]

this looks Like something that was taken from Ghost in The Shell

[shane @ Dec 11th 2008 6:51PM]

Thats fantastic tech, amazing, I just hope they push it further, so we can share and watch the best TV shows on the planet, peoples weird wacky dreams!

[bangladeshiluv @ Dec 11th 2008 6:52PM]

i have a wet dream

[Saad Rabia @ Dec 11th 2008 6:52PM]

Too bad they hired Mr. Blury Cam to transport the images! God Damnit.

[iKurt @ Dec 11th 2008 7:24PM]

your avatar... scares me.

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 11th 2008 8:36PM]

Fanboys run away in fear of the Saad Rabia! :P

[Gad Get @ Dec 12th 2008 1:08AM]

AAAGGHHH!! What is that hideous creature?! Oh, that's right, it's a human.

[Ray @ Dec 11th 2008 6:52PM]

HOT SHIT!

[Baby-G @ Dec 11th 2008 6:53PM]

How do you think the rebels got plans to the death star!?!?

[Dillon @ Dec 11th 2008 6:54PM]

Wow, this will probably be very handy when asking witnesses to a crime what the perpetrator looked like. No more sketches :p

[Tim @ Dec 13th 2008 4:18PM]

All theyve actually done is been able to read maps related to the visual cortex. Impressive data collection, yes, but not akin to reading thoughts. Researchers have been able to this basic trick for many years with a different method involving surgery and pickups. The advance hear isnt what theyre reading but how they can discern it.

[Neil @ Dec 11th 2008 6:59PM]

Freud just rolled over in his grave.

[ace587 @ Dec 11th 2008 7:02PM]

lol

[Jeremy Thomson @ Dec 11th 2008 7:00PM]

Remember the movie "Brainstorm"?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085271/
What was science fiction in '83 is science fact 25 years later.

[D.S = digtal shit @ Dec 11th 2008 7:04PM]

That is the stupidest title in the universe

[sjdurfey @ Dec 11th 2008 7:15PM]

so is your name. ohhhh snap!