Saturday, February 10, 2007

The First Precrime Unit Can't Be Far Behind

According to this story published in today's Sidney Morning Herald, "Brain Breakthrough Can Read Intentions, life imitates art, sort of.

Scientists have developed a technique which enables them to "read" a person's brain and predict their intentions.

By studying changes in brain activity, it is now thought possible to identify how a person is going to act before they do so.

The breakthrough could have huge implications for brain-stimulated devices used by people suffering from paralysis.

In the study, volunteers were asked to decide whether to add or subtract two numbers but told not to reveal what they were going to do.

Using complex computer programs and sophisticated imaging of the brain, scientists were able to identify what each person was going to do with 70% accuracy.

The research was led by Dr John-Dylan Haynes, from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany, working with researchers in London and Tokyo. The results were published in the online edition of Current Biology.

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