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Well, I can’t….but mind reading is no longer a thing of sci-fi channel episodes and ladies in turbans charging you $9.99 a minute.  This is thanks to Canadian researchers who have developed a way to use infrared light brain imaging to decode an individuals preference for something. 

The researchers are from Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital and their goal is to “give children who are ‘locked in’ by disability a way to express themselves through subtle body processes like breathing pattern, heart rate and brain activity.”  According to Sheena Luu, the University of Toronto PhD student in biomedical engineering who led the study under the supervision of Tom Chau, Canada Research Chair in pediatric rehab engineering. this is the first system that decodes preference naturally from spontaneous thoughts.

So how is this all done?  They use a special headband that is fitted with fiber optics.  These fiber optics emit light into the part of the brain known as the pre-frontal cortex.  By measuring the intensity of near-infrared light absorbed in the brain tissue, scientists in the study were able to decode a persons drink preference with 80% accuracy.  In the study, the subjects were shown two drinks (these were on a computer monitor), and asked to make a decision mentally about which one they liked more.  “When your brain is active, the oxygen in your blood increases and depending on the concentration, it absorbs more or less light,” Luu says. “In some people, their brains are more active when they don’t like something, and in some people they’re more active when they do like something.”

What separates this from other brain-computer interfaces already out there designed to read thoughts is that the ones already out there require training on the part of the subject.  For instance, if the person being asked the question wanted to indicate the answer “no” to a question asked, he or she would need to do an unrelated mental task like singing a song in their head.  There were nine adults in Luu’s study, none of which received any special training. 

Luu stresses that “Preference is the basis for everyday decisions. When children with disabilities can’t speak or gesture to control their environment, they may develop a learned helplessness that impedes development.”  She sees herself one day creating a portable, near-infared sensor that fits on the forehead and works off wireless technology, which would open the world of choice to children who are unable to speak or move.

Although she does admit that the brain is too complex to decode a person’s random thoughts.  So, sorry guys, you won’t be able to buy one of these to understand women.

via: eurekarlert